A five-wicket haul for Tim Southee and a blistering 55 by Jesse Ryder saw New Zealand shatter an 11-match losing streak in style with a nine-wicket win over Pakistan in their one-day match Saturday. New Zealand were so dominant in the opening ODI of the six-match series that they took just 17.2 overs with the bat to wrap up the match after whipping Pakistan out for 124 at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
Southee claimed his first ODI five-wicket bag Under pressure to perform after being whitewashed in successive series against Bangladesh and India, New Zealand rejigged their batting order with swashbuckling opener Brendon McCullum dropped down to number six.
The aim was to give New Zealand strength at the top and tail but McCullum never reached the wicket as his regular opening partner Jesse Ryder carved up the Pakistan attack in a whirlwind reply to an ineffective performance. The only success for Pakistan was when captain Shahid Afridi won the toss and opted to bat, their day going downhill from there.
The Pakistan innings lasted just 37.3 overs and the outcome was almost inevitable once Ryder opened up in the fifth over of New Zealand's innings, taking 17 off Shoaib Akhtar including two fours and a six. He made his 55 in only 34 balls in a batting display which complemented the bowling of 22-year-old Southee, who assumed the role of New Zealand's senior quick for the first time and claimed his first ODI five-wicket bag.
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori said it was good to snap the losing streak and full credit had to go to man-of-the-match Southee. "It was a good win for us after a long time. Tim Southee set it up for us with his swing," he said, leaving Afridi to rue an ineffective batting performance by his side. "I think the pitch was very good. I don't think that was a bad decision batting first. We were missing partnerships."
Southee destroyed Pakistan in three spells in which he ripped out the top order, came back to break up the middle and returned again to wrap up the innings. His figures of five for 33 from 9.3 overs were backed up by three for 26 for Hamish Bennett, playing in only his third ODI and first at home, and two for 33 by the veteran Jacob Oram.
Only Misbah-ul-Haq produced an innings of substance for Pakistan, reaching 50 before he was bowled by Southee to end the innings. But the New Zealand openers Ryder and Martin Guptill showed there were no demons in the wicket as they put on 84 in 10 overs before Ryder's departure.
Ryder brought up his 50 edging Abdul Razzaq for a single and in the following over took a single off Sohail Tanvir before attempting to pick up the pace again. He smacked another four and then went for back-to-back boundaries only to pull the ball straight to Asad Shafiq on the mid-wicket boundary.
Guptill, averaging almost a run a ball, made an unbeaten 40 but it was Ross Taylor, promoted to number three in the new-look New Zealand batting line up, who stroked the winning single, finishing on 23. Pakistan's innings was shaky from the start with Mohammad Hafeez dropped by McCullum in the first over, but falling soon after when he edged an outswinger from Southee.
It was the start of a penetrating period for Southee in which he took the wickets of Kamran Akmal (eight) and Asad Shafiq (four) to take three for 16 from his first spell of six overs, leaving Pakistan 32-3. Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq, who provided the backbone of each Pakistan innings in the Tests, set about repairing the situation but had added only 28 for the fourth wicket when Bennett struck.
He had Younis caught behind for 24 and then dismissed Umar Akmal with his next delivery, caught at second slip by Taylor. Shahid Afridi avoided the hat-trick but was dismissed by Southee in his second spell to have Pakistan 88-6 before the quick ended the Pakistan innings in his third turn with the ball by bowling Misbah. The second match in the series is in Queenstown on Wednesday.
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Scoreboard Pakistan:
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K. Akmal c Ryder b Southee 8
M. Hafeez c McCullum b Southee 0
Younis Khan c McCullum b Bennett 24
Asad Shafiq lbw b Southee 4
Misbah-ul-Haq b Southee 50
U. Akmal c Taylor b Bennett 0
S. Afridi c McCullum b Southee 15
A. Razzaq c McCullum b Oram 6
A. Rehman c McCullum b Oram 0
S. Tanvir c Ryder b Bennett 6
Shoaib Akhtar not out 1
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Extras: (lb 1, w 9) 10
Total: (10 wkts; 37.3 overs) 124
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Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-22, 3-29, 4-57, 5-57, 6-88, 7-96, 8-96, 9-106, 10-124.
Bowling: Franklin 4-1-13-0, Southee 9.3-0-33-5 (4w), Oram 10-0-33-2 (4w), Bennett 8-0-26-3 (1w), Vettori 6-0-18-0.
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New Zealand
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M. Guptill not out 40
J. Ryder c Asad b Sohail 55
R. Taylor not out 23
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Extras: (lb 1, w 6) 7
Total: (for one wkt; 17.2 overs) 125
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