New Zealand saves pride by avoiding whitewash against Pakistan: Player Ratings for the Visitors
An alarmed Pakistani side did not allow the Blackcaps to settle down in the longer white-ball format to outclass the visitors by 4-1. Despite losing the One-Day International saga in a one-sided manner, Kiwis managed to turn down the whitewash intentions of the hosts by winning the final clash.
Let’s take a look at the player ratings and detailed performances report of Team New Zealand from the recently concluded away series against Pakistan.
Batters
Will Young (6/10): The Blackcaps team management was in a mood to try out new opening pairs for every game however, the Central Districts batter was the only one who got a continuous run as an opener.
Young kickstarted the ODI campaign with a fierce 86-run stand at a strike rate of 110.26 and gave perfect companionship to the centurion Daryl Mitchell. The 30-year-old Kiwi opener failed to replicate it in the next three fixtures but another commendable innings of 87 runs in the fifth ODI was followed by consecutive failures.
Chad Bowes (5/10): After a disappointing show in the first ODI, the 30-year-old batter struck his maiden ODI half-century in the second game scoring 51 runs off 51 balls and also had an 86-run partnership with Daryl Mitchell for the second wicket.
However, the efforts were not enough to save his place in the playing XI as he was soon replaced by Tom Blundell in the opening position for Karachi games and did not get any chance to make a comeback.
Tom Blundell (4/10): The Wellington-born wicketkeeper batter was included in the Kiwis’ lineup for the third ODI after missing out on both Rawalpindi fixtures.
Blundell made an instant impact in his first appearance of the Pakistan tour and gave a robust start to the NZ innings before departing on an individual score of 65 runs courtesy of a run-out dismissal. He lacked the consistency to turn the impactful performance into a successful run as this remained his only positive from this series.
Tom Latham (8/10): The Kiwis’ stand-in skipper who led the Blackcaps Army to an emphatic 2-2 draw in the T20I series could not perform up to the high hopes of his nation with a second-string roster in the longer format.
However, Latham had a great individual campaign after making it to the top-three highest run-getters with his tally of 282 and three fifties while averaging 56.40 at number three. He came very close to hitting the three-digit mark in the second ODI but was dismissed by Haris Rauf on 98 which also brought an end to a momentous 183-run partnership between him and Daryl Mitchell.
Mark Chapman (4/10): Kiwi fans had huge hopes after his inclusion in the ODI setup however, it turned out to be a major letdown by the man who heroically claimed the Player of the Series honor recently. The Hong Kong-born batter failed to save his team from the continuous middle-order collapses and managed to fetch only 29 runs from the first three innings. Chapman brought stability to his game in the final two games (46 & 43) but still couldn’t convert them into big ones.
Henry Nicholls (3/10): The Canterbury-based batter was dropped from the playing eleven for the fourth match after being able to contribute only 27 runs in the initial three appearances. Nicholls was called back into the NZ lineup for the final fixture and was also promoted to number three but he still couldn’t add more than 23 runs to the team tally of 299.
All-rounders
Daryl Mitchell (9/10): The Hamilton-born in-form all-rounder stole the show with his brilliant batting and emerged as the second-highest run-scorer of the bilateral saga. Mitchell commenced the series with a bang and went on to score two consecutive centuries (113 & 129) but both of them eventually ended up in a losing cause.
He was rested for the dead-rubber fifth ODI as his individual campaign consummated on 297 runs from four innings at an astonishing average of 74.25.
Cole McConchie (6/10): After years of hard work and grit in the New Zealand domestic circuit, the 30-year-old finally got the opportunity to represent his country in the One-Day International cricket. He made his debut in the third ODI and turn it into a memorable one after playing a quickfire 64-run knock at a strike rate of 142.22 along with the dismissal of Abdullah Shafique.
McConchie continued to feature in the Blackcaps’ playing XI for the next two games as well but remained wicketless and could only fetch 34 runs with the willow.
Rachin Ravindra (5/10): As a reward for his contribution to the recent T20I heroics, the Wellington youngster got the nod ahead of other all-round options on the bench. Ravindra dismissed the dangerman Fakhar Zaman in the opening match but his expensive figures of 0/ 75 in the following game forced the team management to sideline him from the action.
The 23-year-old spin-bowling all-rounder made a thumping return to the battlefield for the final fixture as his crucial contribution of 28 runs and three wickets played a pivotal role in the team’s sole victory.
James Neesham (2/10): The star seam-bowling all-rounder made his first appearance in the second ODI where his 17-run unbeaten stand and expensive bowling figures of 0/64 in nine overs were not enough to retain his place ahead of the do-or-die encounter. Neesham made a comeback in the fourth fixture but once again failed to capitalize on it and was eventually sidelined on the bench.
Bowlers
Henry Shipley (7/10): Shipley had a lion’s share in the visitors being able to fly back home with a consolation win as his Player of the Match performance played a pivotal role to avoid the whitewash. Like most other Blackcap bowlers, the 26-year-old right-arm pacer also failed to make any impact initially and spent runs excessively.
He was finally able to showcase his abilities in the fifth fixture, trapping big fishes like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Agha Salman along with an economy rate of 3.8 starring in their 47-run triumph.
Matt Henry (7/10): The 31-year-old speedster who emerged as the joint-second highest wicket-taker was also the only visiting bowler to barge into the Top 5 of wicket-taking charts for the series.
After being able to pick only a single wicket in the first two games, the Canterbury volcano burst in Karachi as he went on to claim his first three-wicket haul. Henry continued to terrify the Men in Green at their own fortress of Karachi after registering yet another three-wicket haul and also orchestrated the run-out dismissal of Mohammad Rizwan.
Adam Milne (6/10): Milne had a great start to the series as he was the most successful Kiwi bowler in the opening game after staging the dismissals of Imam-ul-Haq and Shan Masood.
He was then excluded from the playing XI by the team management fearing fitness concerns and only returned for the do-or-die clash. After scalping two wickets in the third ODI, he was once again rested for the following fixture while making his final appearance in the fifth game with a solitary wicket.
Ben Lister (6/10): Another debutant from the Kiwi camp who had an impressive performance in this series and showcased their contention to don the all-black outfits again.
Lister had a special debut day at the National Stadium of Karachi where he got the wicket of opposition skipper Babar Azam who was batting on 117 at the time of the dismissal. However, the Auckland seamer could not retain his place in pace-attack and had to make way for the returning Adam Milne in the following game.
Ish Sodhi (4/10): It was a forgettable individual campaign for the 30-year-old spin wizard who was not only New Zealand’s most experienced bowler but also the most reliable wicket-taking option.
Sodhi featured in all five games of the series and bowled all 50 overs of his individual quota but ended up scalping only four wickets. Despite being the second-most successful spinner, his bowling average of 74.75 was still the highest among the bowlers who took more than one wicket in this series. Blair Tickner (3/10): In the first ODI, the Central Districts’ stalwart dismissed the Pakistani all-rounder Agha Salman in the death overs which also stood as his only breakthrough in this series. Tickner made his second and last appearance in the fourth ODI where his highly expensive figures of 0/74 in 8 overs blocked his way to the fifth fixture.