At the end of New Zealand's first ODI in Pakistan in 20 years, captain Kane Williamson had to concede that the hosts were clinical with the ball. But he also made an observation that could serve as the target for Wednesday's game where they need a win to keep the series alive.
"We had a number of mid-partnerships but no one going on," Williamson said. To be fair to his batters, the ball didn't come on to the bat easily in the first innings but with a top-order like theirs, the expectation is perhaps to dig in, adjust and make the big runs that the Karachi surface usually offers. After only getting 255 in the first game, that Pakistan chased down with 11 balls to spare, the aim for the visitors has to be to find ways to add at least 30-odd runs to that tally.
For Pakistan, almost everything clicked into perfect gear in the series opener, starting with the toss that Babar Azam won and took advantage of the dew that set in later in the evening. Imam-ul-Haq was the only non-performer in their top-order in chase, but the opener will hope to brush that off quickly - as well as his last ODI assignment, in Netherlands - after scoring back-to-back fifties against West Indies in August. With very small flaws to iron out, Wednesday presents Pakistan a chance to win yet another series and further enhance their potency at home.
