Shahid Khan Afridi, the interim chief selector for Pakistan, praised the team’s effort in the opening ODI of a three-match series against New Zealand.
At the National Bank Cricket Arena, Pakistan defeated New Zealand by six wickets in the first one-day international to take a 1-0 series lead (NBCA).
Afridi hailed Babar Azam XI on Twitter for outperforming New Zealand. “Congratulations to Babar and the entire team for an outstanding effort. performance! Today we were well led and outplayed NZ in all departments. Great day for Babar, Naseem, Usama, Haris and Rizwan. Fakhar also gave a good start. Hope we continue the same way in 2nd ODI,” he wrote.
With a target of 256 runs to be reached in 50 overs, Pakistan was able to cross the finish line thanks to half-centuries from Fakhar Zaman, Babar, and Mohammad Rizwan.
Haris Sohail, who had been absent for over four years, scored a respectable 32 off 23 balls.
