The decider: Whose side will the sands of time shift the balance to?

Pakistan and New Zealand unseperated across three formats so far in the tour


Afp/Our Correspondent December 18, 2014

KARACHI: After nine matches across three formats, New Zealand continue to fight Pakistan toe to toe and may now snatch the ODI series and hence the tour thanks to their never-say-die attitude.

Whenever Pakistan have taken the lead, New Zealand have fought back to even the score; in the Tests, in the T20Is and now in the ODIs. Now only one match remains, there will be no chance of a comeback if they lose this one.

However, even if the Black Caps lose the decider at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Friday, they can be happy with the cricket they have played in the last month and a half.

Brendon McCullum’s deputy, Kane Williamson, has proved himself to be a smart leader while second-string pacers Matt Henry and Adam Milne have shook the batsmen with their unerring line and hostile pace.

Milne in particular has made the batsmen jump around with his searing quick deliveries, extracting help from seemingly dead tracks.

Some of the senior Pakistan players appear to be scared of his pace and Younus Khan, Shahid Afridi and Ahmed Shehzad have all struggled against him.

Under Shahid Afridi, the hosts have played positively but team selection continues to be defensive.

Muhammad Irfan has featured in all four ODIs and with the series in the balance, the team management will be reluctant to rest him in the decider.

The top order continues with its miss-and-hit trend, which might have hampered plans of experimentation.

On flat decks, Pakistan have fielded only four specialist bowlers. Haris Sohail has done a credible job as the fifth bowler but either Wahab Riaz or Sohail Tanvir have leaked runs in the limited overs matches.

Younus’ much awaited return to form in the ODI format is indeed encouraging and one hopes he can take this confidence into the World Cup.

Waqar wants Pakistan to win New Zealand series

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis feels a win will give his team a boost going into next year's World Cup.

“We need to win the final ODI," Waqar said on Thursday.

“This series is for us to utilise and get a clear picture who are the final 15 [players for the World Cup] and besides that win this series.”

Waqar also praised Younus, who scored his first ODI century in six years, and stand-in skipper Shahid Afridi, who smashed a 25-ball 49. “Younus’ form was very important, he has shown us his true potential.”

Williamson happy with resilience

Williamson is happy with the resilience his team has shown throughout the tour, including their comeback with the ball at the death end of the fourth ODI.

"It was just about executing the plans we had, and just trying to build partnerships and it was great to come back with the ball in the second part of the Pakistan innings," said Williamson.

"Pakistan kept coming; they showed consistently how good they are.”

Afridi to hand over trophy to Army Public School

Haier Pakistan chief executive Javed Afridi has announced to handover the trophy to Army Public School and College if Pakistan win the ongoing one-day series against New Zealand in the UAE.

Afridi told The Express Tribune that a unanimous decision has been taken with the national cricket team, the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Haier Pakistan management on board, adding that captain Shahid Afridi will hand over the trophy to the Army Public School management.

 

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COMMENTS (1)

Nishant | 9 years ago | Reply

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