Pakistan 171 for 8 (Hafeez 61, Milne 4-37) beat New Zealand 155 (Williamson 70, Munro 56) by 16 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
The dangerous Martin Guptill was run out for 2 © Getty Images
New Zealand threatened Pakistan’s 171 for 8 through fifties from Colin Munro and Kane Williamson, but the many strands of the visitors’ varied attack came together to truss up the hosts, 16 runs short of their target. The pace trio of Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul and Mohammad Amir created more chances, while the spin of Imad Wasim, and Shahid Afridi provided economy. Mohammad Hafeez had earlier provided the base for Pakistan’s innings, with 61 from 47 balls from the top of the order.
Wahab was left to defend 20 runs from the final over, with Williamson on strike. He had the batsman caught at deep square leg first ball to effectively seal the match, before taking the final wicket of the innings off the last ball. New Zealand’s chase had begun slowly and they never really seemed to have the measure of Pakistan’s score.
Amir’s part in his international return was relatively low-key, but full of frustration. He had Williamson dropped off his bowling in the fourth over, then had another straightforward catch spilt towards the end of the match. He eventually took the wicket of Matt Henry in the penultimate over to finish with figures of 1 for 31 from four overs. Wahab, Gul and Afridi took two wickets apiece, while Wasim returned 1 for 18 from his full quota.
More to follow …
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo’s Sri Lanka correspondent. @andrewffernando
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo