A brilliant ton from opener Suzie Bates and a maiden five-wicket haul from Hannah Rowe helped New Zealand to register a 71-run victory over Pakistan in the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup match here at Hagley Oval on Saturday.
Bates smashed 126 runs from 135 deliveries in the New Zealand’s total of 265/8 and Rowe picked up 5/55 to seal the win for the hosts.
Chasing a 266-run target, Nida Dar top scored for Pakistan scoring 50 runs. Dar and skipper Bismah Maroof’s partnership made a crucial 82-run stand. They mixed caution with aggression perfectly to ensure that there was no further damage. But later Maroof was sent back to the pavilion by Hannah Rowe on 38 runs.
Soon after skipper, Rowe dismissed Aliya Riaz for one and got the key wicket of Dar to send Pakistan tumbling from 155/3 to 158/6.
New Zealand managed to pick up wickets at crucial stages to quickly deflate any winning prospects. Pakistan could only score 194 runs in 50 overs for the loss of 9 wickets and lost the match.
Spinner Frances Mackay 2/29 did the damage at the top-order of Pakistan, while it was Rowe that sealed the match by running through their middle order.
Earlier Pakistan won the toss and decided to bowl first in the match. New Zealand, batted first, scored 265 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in the 50 overs.
Suzy played a brilliant inning of 126 runs in 135 balls with the help of 14 boundaries. After Suzy, wicketkeeper Katie Martin was the best performer with the bat scoring 30 runs. Nida Dar took the highest three wickets for Pakistan.
Brief score: New Zealand 265/8 (Suzie Bates 126, Katey Martin 30*; Nida Dar 3-39) Pakistan 194/9 (Nida Dar 50, Bismah Maroof 38; Hannah Rowe 5-55). (ANI)
