Babar ton helps Pakistan to 6-wicket win over Kiwis
Babar Azam”s maiden World Cup century and Shaheen Afridi”s performance with the ball helped Pakistan secure a seven-wicket win over New Zealand at Edgbaston on Wednesday. Chasing a target of 238 on a tricky pitch, Babar ended unbeaten on 101 off 127 balls.
Babar shared a 126-run stand with Haris Sohail, who was dismissed in the penultimate over of the match on 68. Shaheen Afridi starred with figures of 3/28 in his 10 overs as Pakistan reduced New Zealand to 83/5 in the 27th over. James Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme then put up a 132-run stand to give their bowlers something to fight for.
Pakistan were in the driver”s seat for most of the chase. New Zealand started their defence promisingly with Trent Boult dismissing Fakhar Zaman off the last ball of the third over. Imam-ul-Haq then fell to Lockie Ferguson in the 11th over.
