Hyderabad, Deccan: In the ICC World Cup warm-up match, New Zealand defeated Pakistan with ease by five wickets. New Zealand achieved Pakistan’s target of 346 runs quite comfortably in the 44th over. Kane Williamson was the standout performer for New Zealand, scoring 97 runs, while Mark Chapman made 65 runs before getting out.Furthermore, Daryl Mitchell scored 59 and Kane Williamson made 54 runs before retiring, while Jimmy Neesham scored 33, and Tom Latham contributed 18 runs. For Pakistan, Asif Ali took 2 wickets, while Mohammad Wasim, Salman Aga, and Hasan Ali each took one wicket.
It should be noted that Pakistan had won the toss and decided to bat in their first warm-up match against New Zealand played in Hyderabad, Deccan. Pakistan scored 345 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in their allotted 50 overs.Mohammad Rizwan scored 103 runs before retiring, while Babar Azam made 80 and Saud Shakeel contributed 75 runs. Shadab Khan scored 16, Abdullah Shafique made 14, and Imam-ul-Haq added one run to the total. In addition, Salman Aga scored 33 runs, and Iftikhar Ahmed remained unbeaten with 7 runs. From New Zealand’s side, Mitchell Santner took 2 wickets, while Lockie Ferguson, Jimmy Neesham, and Matt Henry each took one wicket.
It’s worth mentioning that all 15 players were available for selection in the warm-up match. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson returned to the team after knee surgery and only batted in today’s match against Pakistan. However, Williamson will also field in the warm-up match against South Africa.
Remember that Pakistan will play their first match in the World Cup against the Netherlands on October 6. In addition to this match, another warm-up match was played on Friday, in which Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka by 7 wickets.
Sri Lanka had set a target of 263 runs in their first innings, which Bangladesh successfully chased down, scoring 264 runs in 42 overs. Tanzid Hasan scored 84, and Liton Das made 61 runs for Bangladesh. Additionally, Mahedi Hasan contributed 67 runs, and Mosaddek Hossain scored 35 runs. Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Kumara, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Hemantha took one wicket each.
(Thanks to: Geo News)