Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan offered his reflections after the team’s 84-run loss to New Zealand in the second ODI of the three-match series at Seddon Park on Wednesday.
In the post-match presentation, Rizwan acknowledged the challenges his team faced, saying: “It is sore, but it’s part of the game. We didn’t do well today. We didn’t utilise the swing effectively, and New Zealand bowled very well.”
“Later on, Faheem and Naseem fought well for us. These are challenging conditions, but we can’t make excuses. We are professional cricketers, and we need to do something different,” he added.
He also praised New Zealand’s disciplined bowling attack.
“The bowlers of New Zealand were very disciplined; they bowled the hard lengths. In the last couple of months, we’ve lost key moments. Today, we didn’t perform well with the ball or the bat in the first 10 overs. Credit to Mitch Hay as well; the way he batted was amazing,” Rizwan said. “We don’t know much about the pitch in Tauranga, but we’ll have to adapt.”
Chasing a challenging target of 293, Pakistan’s pursuit got off to a disastrous start as the top order collapsed under pressure from New Zealand’s bowlers.
Abdullah Shafique (1 off 11) was dismissed early by O’Rourke, followed by Imam-ul-Haq (3 off 12) and Babar Azam (1 off 3), who both fell cheaply to Jacob Duffy’s accurate bowling.
With three quick wickets down, Pakistan’s position looked precarious. Things worsened when Mohammad Rizwan (5 off 27) and Salman Agha (9 off 15) also fell without making significant contributions.
Tayyab Tahir (13 off 29) tried to stabilise the innings, but New Zealand’s relentless pressure prevented Pakistan from gaining any momentum.
All-rounder Faheem Ashraf displayed remarkable resilience, scoring a brilliant half-century. However, as he continued to lose partners—Mohammad Wasim Jr. (1 off 2) and Akif Javed (8 off 7) were dismissed by Ben Sears and Jacob Duffy—Pakistan found themselves struggling at 114-8 in 28.2 overs.
The situation took a more worrying turn when Haris Rauf suffered a concussion after being struck on the head, forcing him to leave the field.
Naseem Shah came in as his replacement, and the pair formed a crucial 50-run partnership for the ninth wicket, bringing the score to 165-8 in 36 overs.
Despite their best efforts, Pakistan’s resistance came to an end when Ben Sears dismissed Faheem Ashraf (73 off 80), leaving the score at 174-9.
Despite a valiant knock from Naseem Shah, who had earlier reached his maiden ODI fifty in just 41 balls, Pakistan’s innings was wrapped up for 208 in 41.2 overs, with Naseem dismissed for 51.
Earlier in the match, New Zealand’s innings had been anchored by solid partnerships. Rhys Mariu and Nick Kelly put on 50 runs before Pakistan’s bowlers began making inroads.
Despite regular wickets falling, Mitchell Hay’s late surge guided New Zealand to a competitive total of 292.
In the first one-day international match on March 29, Mark Chapman struck a sublime century and Nathan Smith claimed four wickets as Black Caps eased to a 73-run win over Green Shirts.
Prior to the ongoing ODIs, New Zealand had secured a dominant 4-1 victory in the five-match T20I series against Pakistan.
