Twitter Reactions: All-round Pakistan outmuscle Blackcaps to claim historic series victory
Pakistan ended their 12-year wait for a series victory against New Zealand after defeating the Kiwis in Karachi.
Babar Azam's Pakistan claimed their first series victory against New Zealand since 2011 after defeating the Kiwis for a third game in a row, sealing the five-match series. The home side ran out comfortable victors in the end after successfully defending 287 runs in the third ODI of the series against New Zealand in Karachi.
The visitors, chasing an above-par total to remain alive in the ODI series, got off to a sturdy start, thanks to an 83-run opening stand between Will Young and Tom Blundell. However, both the openers were sent back in quick succession after some brilliant bit of work by the Pakistanis in the field.
Blundell's wicket really deflated the Blackcaps and even though skipper Tom Latham fought hard with a gritty 45 off 60 deliveries, Pakistan were always ahead in the game. Cole McConchie, who was making his ODI debut for the Kiwis in the match, threatened to take his side home with a ballistic half-century, but he was left with too much to do in the end, without receiving much support from the other end.
Imam and Babar pushed Pakistan to a healthy total
Earlier in the match, it was the visitors who won the toss and decided to bowl first in a decisive contest in Karachi. They made a bright start to the game after getting rid of Fakhar Zaman, their tormentor-in-chief in the previous two matches, in the ninth over of the match. But the home side found another hero in Imam-ul-Haq, who steadied the ship with a solid 108-run partnership with skipper Babar Azam.
While Babar departed after his second consecutive half-century in the series, Imam continued to milk runs from the other end before falling just ten runs short of a well-deserved century. While the visitors wrestled for momentum in the death overs, Shadab Khan's sizzling cameo helped the home side to a challenging total after their 50 overs.
Here is how Twitter reacted to Pakistan's much-awaited series victory against the visitors:
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