Shahid Afridi, the Pakistani skipper credited Test captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, for his innings that helped his side pull off a nail-biting victory in the fourth One Day International (ODI) against New Zealand.
“Misbah-ul-Haq (innings) in the end especially, it was a great knock”, Afridi exclaimed during a post-match interview.
The Test captain’s innings served as the backbone for Pakistan’s successful run chase at Napier. He smashed an unbeaten 93 off 91 balls. The match-winning knock saw seven boundaries and a six.
His innings came at a time when the visitors were losing wickets at regular intervals and the required run-rate was creeping up.
Earlier, New Zealand steadily recovered from a top-half collapse once again and managed to put up a competitive target of 263. The Black Caps seemed all set to take the game away from the visitors, but Pakistan proved once again that they are the comeback experts.
“263 is not an easy total especially when you are chasing”, Afridi conceded before adding that the stage was set up by opener Ahmed Shehzad.
But as Pakistan was expecting Mohammad Hafeez to hit score another ton, he slashed at a Hamish Bennett delivery and was caught by Ross Taylor brilliantly for 12 runs.
Shehzad was in fine form as he hit six boundaries and one six to post 42 runs off 42 balls. But the Black Caps’ cashed in on the combination of Scott Styris and Ross Taylor as they took two wickets in quick succession.
However, Misbah and veteran, Younis Khan, played risk-free cricket at a time when wickets were needed on a flat track. The two batsmen guided their side with a host of hard-hitting boundaries and the Kiwis were left struggling.
The pair added 89 runs while Misbah reached his half century, but Younis left stranded while running between the wickets after tipping the ball to point.
But the Pakistani captain hailed the risk-averse technique of the two players saying that they took great “responsibility” to create a good partnership.
Misbah, along with tail-ender Sohail Tanvir handled the pressure well and eventually finished with three boundaries in the 48th over.
Afridi also credited the fast bowlers for restricting Daniel Vettori’s top order in the first 25 overs. Wahab Riaz led Pakistan’s bowling attack, claiming three wickets for 51 runs. Afridi, himself took the wicket of the Kiwis leading scorer James Franklin.
“The way the boys bowled with the new ball, especially on this track which is like heaven for batsmen, it was really well and full credit goes to them”, Afridi added.
Pakistan leads the six-match series 2-1 with the last match scheduled to be played on Saturday in Auckland.
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