1st ODI: Mohammad Rizwan guides Pakistan to victory against NZ
Mohammad Rizwan slammed an unbeaten 77 in Pakistan's six-wicket win against New Zealand in the 1st ODI at the National Stadium, Karachi. The right-handed batter slammed his seventh half-century in ODI cricket, finishing as Pakistan's top scorer in the match. Rizwan, who featured in his 50th ODI, completed 1,100 runs in the format. He helped Pakistan chase 256 in Karachi.
Rizwan played a scintillating knock
Rizwan came to the middle after opener Fakhar Zaman departed (108/2). The former then added 60 runs along with Pakistan captain Babar Azam. Rizwan continued with his counter-attack even though he lost Babar in the 37th over. He then shared a 64-run stand with Haris Sohail. He finished with an unbeaten 77 off 86 balls (6 fours, 1 six).
Rizwan races to 1,100 ODI runs
Rizwan now has 1,142 runs from 50 ODIs at an average of 31.72. Earlier this year, Rizwan became the 28th Pakistani player to score 5,000 runs across formats. He attained the feat in the 1st Test against England. The right-handed batter racked up 46 off 92 deliveries, a knock laced with 6 fours and 2 sixes, in the second innings.
The summary of 1st ODI
New Zealand had a patchy start after Pakistan invited them to bat. They lost three wickets for 69 runs in 14.2 overs. Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham got the Kiwis past 120, but Mohammad Nawaz broke the pivotal stand. Naseem took a fifer as NZ finished with 255/9. Fakhar, Babar, and Rizwan scored fifties as Pakistan comfortably chased the target.
