(Reuters) – New Zealand won the series against Pakistan 3-2 after skipper Kane Williamson’s brilliant 97 and Matt Henry’s maiden five-wicket haul secured a comprehensive 68-run victory in the final one-dayer in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
Williamson fell three runs short of his second successive century as he and Ross Taylor (88 not out) led New Zealand to a formidable total of 275 for four at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
The Kiwis then bowled out Pakistan for 207 in 43.3 overs thanks mainly to paceman Henry (5-30) who was named man of the match.
Pakistan’s chase got off to a poor start when Henry trapped opener Nasir Jamshed leg before for a duck.
Haris Sohail (65) and Ahmed Shehzad (54) rallied with half-centuries but their team struggled to recover from the early breakthroughs made by Henry who also removed Younus Khan for 12.
Opting to bat in the decider, New Zealand lost Martin Guptill in the third over before the in-form Williamson, voted the man of the series, added 66 runs with Dean Brownlie (34).
Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar trapped Brownlie leg before but Pakistan had to wait another 23 overs to celebrate another dismissal as Williamson and Taylor added 116 runs for the third wicket.
Shahid Afridi denied Williamson his second century in a row when he fluffed a sweep shot and was caught.
Pakistan bowled with discipline but Taylor and Tom Latham (22 not out) helped New Zealand hit 85 in the last 10 overs.
SCOREBOARD
New Zealand Innings
M. Guptill c Shafiq b Irfan 8
D. Brownlie lbw b Babar 34
K. Williamson c S. Ahmed b Afridi 97
R. Taylor not out 88
L. Ronchi c Afridi b Irfan 16
T. Latham not out 22
Extras (lb-5 w-5) 10
Total (for 4 wickets, 50 overs) 275
Fall of wickets: 1-20 M. Guptill,2-86 D. Brownlie,3-202 K. Williamson,4-241 L. Ronchi
Did not bat: A. Devcich, N. McCullum, A. Milne, M. Henry, M. McClenaghan Bowling M. Irfan 10 – 0 – 62 – 2(w-2) Z. Babar 10 – 0 – 61 – 1 S. Afridi 10 – 0 – 33 – 1(w-2) An. Ali 10 – 0 – 62 – 0(w-1) H. Sohail 8 – 0 – 38 – 0 A. Shehzad 2 – 0 – 14 – 0
Pakistan Innings
N. Jamshed lbw b Henry 0
A. Shehzad c Williamson b Henry 54
Y. Khan c Ronchi b Henry 12
A. Shafiq lbw b Devcich 7
H. Sohail b McClenaghan 65
U. Akmal c Guptill b N. McCullum 6
S. Ahmed c Ronchi b Henry 26
S. Afridi c Taylor b Henry 13
An. Ali st Ronchi b N. McCullum 18
Z. Babar b Milne 2
M. Irfan not out 0
Extras (b-1 lb-2 w-1) 4
Total (all out, 43.3 overs) 207
Fall of wickets: 1-0 N. Jamshed,2-22 Y. Khan,3-38 A. Shafiq,4-107 A. Shehzad,5-117 U. Akmal,6-172 H. Sohail,7-174 S. Ahmed,8-194 An. Ali,9-205 S. Afridi,10-207 Z. Babar Bowling M. Henry 9 – 1 – 30 – 5(w-1) A. Milne 6.3 – 0 – 30 – 1 M. McClenaghan 8 – 0 – 45 – 1 A. Devcich 6 – 0 – 22 – 1 K. Williamson 5 – 0 – 18 – 0 N. McCullum 9 – 0 – 59 – 2 Referees Umpire: Ahsan Raza Umpire: Joel Wilson TV umpire: Richard Illingworth Match referee: Roshan Mahanama Result: New Zealand won by 68 runs
