Birmingham (Agencies) Pakistan brushed aside New Zealand in all-important encounter of ICC World Cup 2019 in Birmingham by six wickets on Wednesday.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat first against Green Shirts.
Kiwis posted a target of 238 runs in 50 overs as James Neesham scored 97 runs while Colin de Grandhomme contributed 64 to the total; Shaheen Afridi took 3 wickets while Aamir and Shadab Khan sent one batsman each to the pavilion.
In response, Pakistan clinched the target in the last over as Babar Azam scored a century while Haris Sohail contributed 68. Babar Azam was declared Player of the Match.
On the other hand, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson took one wicket each.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan also congratulated the team on victory and termed it a great comeback.
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Overnight rain had left the outfield wet and there will be another inspection at 11:30 am before taking a final decision on when to start the match.
Unbeaten New Zealand are second on the 10-team table with 11 points, winning five matches and one no result while Pakistan are seventh with just two wins, three defeats and a no result.
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c, wk), Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Imam-ul-Haq, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Latham (wk), Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult, Henry Nicholls, Tim Southee, Tom Blundell, Ish Sodhi
