Boult destroys Pakistan as New Zealand takes series

The left-arm pacer rocked Pakistan with three wickets in five balls to take out the cream of its top order on his way to figures of five for 17 as Pakistan was all out for 74, chasing New Zealand's 257.

Published : Jan 13, 2018 12:22 IST , Dunedin

New Zealand bowler Trent Boult in action.
New Zealand bowler Trent Boult in action.
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New Zealand bowler Trent Boult in action.

A withering spell by Trent Boult saw New Zealand destroy Pakistan by 183 runs in the third one-day international to comfortably wrap up the series in Dunedin on Saturday.

Boult rocked Pakistan with three wickets in five balls to take out the cream of its top order on his way to figures of five for 17.

New Zealand, batting first, was restricted to 257, with its innings boosted by 11 off the final over before Boult was dismissed on the last ball.

Then, after Boult's near unplayable overs, Pakistan was all out for 74 in the 28th over to give New Zealand an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

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At eight for 32, Pakistan was threatening two unwanted records — the lowest ODI score of 35, held by Zimbabwe, and Pakistan's own lowest score of 43 — before Sarfraz Ahmed (14 not out), Mohammad Amir (14) and Rumman Raees (16) delayed the inevitable finish.

Boult was in action in the second over when Azhar Ali was caught by Ross Taylor at first slip without scoring.

Dangerman Fakhar Zaman was bowled for two and Taylor also caught Mohammad Hafeez for a duck in Boult second over and Pakistan was in a hole it was never going to get out of.

If New Zealand thought it was slow making 37 for one off the first 10 overs, Pakistan was in dire trouble at nine for three at the same stage.

But when struggling to stay afloat, Babar Azam was unnecessarily run out for eight to start another slide.

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In the following over Shoaib Malik was caught by Taylor off Lochie Ferguson for three and seven balls later part-timer Colin Munro bowled Shadab Khan for without scoring and Pakistan was 16 for six in the 15th over.

With light drizzle falling, but not strong enough to send the players off the field, Faheem Ashraf gave Pakistan supporters something to cheer about when he top-edged Lochie Ferguson for six.

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But on 10 Faheem was gone hooking Ferguson to Todd Astle at fine leg, before Boult came back to claim Amir and Rumman to end the innings.

Pakistan came to New Zealand on a nine-match winning streak and the promise of providing a more formidable opposition for New Zealand who had just swept a series against the West Indies.

After losing the first two matches it arrived in Dunedin needing to win and had its tails up when Munro went for eight in the second over.

But half-centuries to Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor plus 45 for Martin Guptill set New Zealand up.

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Williamson never looked particularly fluent but reached 73 off 101 deliveries while Taylor made 52 off 64 deliveries.

Pakistan did look smart in the field and finished with a flourish taking seven wickets for 48 in the last eight overs.

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