CHRISTCHURCH: Pakistan captain Babar Azam led the way with a magnificentknock of 79* in the run chase and powered his side to a dominatingsix-wicket win over New Zealand in the second match of the ongoingTri-nation series.
Set to chase 147, Pakistan comfortably steered to victory in the 19th overwith six wickets to spare, thanks to a terrific match-winning from theircaptain Babar.
The touring side had an unwanted start to their run chase as they losttheir key batter Mohammad Rizwan early, who could manage to score four off12 deliveries.
Left-handed batter Shan Masood failed to contribute in the run chase as hebagged a two-ball duck and Pakistan, as a result, slipped to 37/2 in thesixth over.
Following the slump, Babar then joined hands with Shadab, who was promotedto bat at No.4, and set the tone for the run chase as the pair addedcrucial 61 runs for the third wicket.
Babar played an anchoring role in the partnership and soon brought up hishalf-century, while Shadab was accelerating the proceedings with aquickfire cameo.
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Blair Tickner, however, halted Shadab’s heroics in the 13th over andprovided his side with a much-needed breakthrough. He scored 34 off just22, laced with two boundaries and as many sixes.
Mohammad Nawaz (19) then added vital runs for their team and put on a briefpartnership with Babar and put Pakistan on the verge of a second victory inthe ongoing tri-series.
Babar top-scored for his side with a brilliant knock of 79 not out off just53 deliveries and smashed 11 boundaries. His sensible knock earned him theplayer of the match award.
