Pakistan opener Usman Khan, who made his debut in the first ODI against New Zealand, has been ruled out of the second ODI due to a hamstring injury, the ICC’s official website reported. The 29-year-old sustained the injury while fielding during the series opener in Napier, and a scan after the game confirmed a low-grade tear. As a result, he will be unavailable for the second clash of the three-match series. The right-hand batter was not initially part of Pakistan’s ODI squad for the New Zealand series but was included after the conclusion of the T20I series. He made his debut in the first ODI, scoring 39 off 33 balls.
Pakistan suffered a 73-run defeat in the first ODI against New Zealand. Batting first, New Zealand posted a formidable total of 344/9 in their 50 overs, driven by a brilliant century from Mark Chapman. In response, Pakistan were bowled out for 271 in 44.1 overs, with Babar Azam top-scoring with 78 off 83 balls.
Batting first, the Michael Bracewell-led side slammed a massive total of 344 runs with the loss of nine wickets in their 50 overs. Other than Chapman, Dary Mitchell (76 runs in 84 balls) and Muhammad Abbas (52 runs off 26 balls) scored important runs for their side.
For Pakistan, three wickets were taken by Irfan Khan (3/51 in 5 overs), two wickets each were grabbed by Haris Rauf (2/38 in 10 overs) and Akif Javed (2/55 in 10 overs), and one wicket each was bagged by Nassem Shah (1/60 in 10 overs) and Mohammad Ali (1/53 in 10 overs) in their respective spells.
Chasing a mammoth total of 345 runs, the visitors, Men in Green, started off well as the openers Abdullah Shafique (36 runs from 49 balls) and Usman Khan (39 runs in 33 balls) started off the innings on a positive note. Both players built a marvellous partnership of 83 runs before Usman was sent back to the pavilion in the 13th over of the second innings.
Babar Azam (78 runs off 83 balls) and Salman Agha (58 runs from 48 balls) scored crucial runs for their side, but those were not enough as the Mohammad Rizwan-led side was bowled out for 244 runs in the 45th over.
The pick of the bowlers for the Kiwis was Nathan Smith, who snapped four wickets in his spell of 8.1 overs, where he conceded 60 runs. Jacob Duffy grabbed two wickets in his nine overs, where he gave away 57 runs. One wicket each were bagged by William O’Rourke (1/38 in 10 overs), Michael Bracewell (1/60 in 10 overs) and Muhammad Abbas (1/43 in 7 overs) in their respective spells.
The second ODI will take place in Hamilton on Wednesday.
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