Haris Sohail helps Pakistan emerge victorious in the 1st ODI against New Zealand - The 1st ODI of the 5 match series between Pakistan and New Zealand was played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Before this both the test and the T20 series were held in a draw and no one was able to separate each other. In this match after winning the toss the home side decided to field first.
Batting first the openers of the team were unable to provide New Zealand a good start as Anton Devcich and Dean Brownlie after scoring 26 and 14 runs respectively lost their wickets. The top order too didn’t respond well to the situation as they lost their wickets easily. The visitors were struggling at 99/4 in 25 overs. It was Ross Taylor who helped the team reach a respectable total as he scored 105 runs for the team and was able to take his team to a total of 246 at the end of 50 overs. He remained not out till the end. Mohammad Irfan took 3 wickets for the home side.
Pakistan needed a sensible batting unit to reach the total as it was easily achievable. The New Zealanders made life difficult for the home side as they took 5 wickets in 25 overs restricting the team to a mere 86/5. Haris Sohail and Shahid Afridi clicked at the right moment for the home side and fought bravely building up the innings. They scored 85 and 61 runs respectively taking the team near to the total. Afridi lost his wicket in the 48th over when the team needed 13 runs more which was handled by Sohail who remained not out and helped his team cross the line. Daniel Vettori and James Neesham took 2 wickets each for the visitors. Haris Sohail was named as the man of the match as he helped Pakistan in winning with the bat. Pakistan now leads the 5 match series by 1-0.