New Zealand suffered a shocking defeat during a group stage match of the ODI World Cup against Pakistan at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on November 4, 2023. In a rain affected encounter, New Zealand were
handed a defeat despite scoring more than 400 runs in their 50 overs as Pakistan were ahead of them as per the DLS method.
Batting first after losing the toss, New Zealand posted 401 runs for the loss of six wickets in their 50 overs. Rachin Ravindra turned out to be top scorer with 108 runs off 94 balls hitting 15 fours and one six, while skipper Kane Williamson scored 95(79) with the help of 10 fours and two sixes. Mark Chapman and Glenn Phillips also contributed with the scores of 39(27) and 41(25) respectively while Mitchell Santner gave finishing touches with 26*(17) runs. For Pakistan, Mohammad Wasim Jr. took three wickets, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed and Hasan Ali scalped a wicket each.
Pakistan got flying start while chasing 402 runs
Chasing the winning target, Pakistan lost their first wicket at the score of just six runs in the first two overs with Abdullah Shafique scoring a mere four runs. After that, skipper Babar Azam joined Iftikhar Ahmed at the crease as the duo didn’t let any wicket fall for the rest of the innings. Pakistan were 200/1 in 25.3 overs before the rain decided to play a spoilsport.
As per the DLS method, Pakistan were 21 runs ahead and eventually ended up winning the game as the game couldn’t proceed further. Ifitkhar remained unbeaten on 126* runs off 81 balls hitting eight fours and 11 sixes, while Babar scored 66*(63) runs hitting six fours and two sixes.
