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Cricket

'Zimbabwe se khelne ka waqt aa gaya' - Fans react as Pakistan lose No. 1 spot in ODI rankings after 47-run loss to New Zealand

Pakistan lost the final ODI to New Zealand by 47 runs and lost their No. 1 spot in ODI rankings within 48 hours. Here's how fans reacted.

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Pakistan vs New Zealand

Pakistan vs New Zealand (Source: Twitter)

After losing to an underpowered New Zealand by 47 runs in the fifth and final one-day international on Sunday in Karachi, Pakistan dropped to No. 1 in the world rankings. This prevented the host team from sweeping the series.

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After being dismissed for 252 in 46.1 overs, the lowest score of the series for Pakistan, the run-machine Babar Azam went for just one run in his 100th ODI, dropping Pakistan to third place in the ODI standings behind Australia and India. After winning the fourth match of the series on Friday, Pakistan climbed to the top of the ODI rankings, but to stay there, it would have needed a 5-0 whitewash.

Will Young's (87) and captain Tom Latham's (59) half-centuries served as the cornerstone of New Zealand's total of 299 in 49.3 overs after Latham won the toss for the third time in a row in the Karachi leg of the series but elected to bat first. Iftikhar Ahmed, batting in the middle order, came close to scoring his first ODI century but fell short, scoring a valiant unbeaten 94 off 72 deliveries as Pakistan's top order faltered for the first time in the series.

Iftikhar Khan's 94* off 72 balls went in vain

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Fakhar Zaman (33) and Shan Masood (7) had trouble with Matt Henry and Adam Milne's perfect lengths with the new ball until Masood, after battling for 20 balls, flicked Henry back onto his stumps. Babar had a fantastic series in which he set a record for the quickest player to reach 5,000 runs in ODI cricket in just 97 innings. However, on Sunday, one of New Zealand's four changes for the last game resulted in the Pakistan captain being caught at backward point off Henry Shipley (3-34).

With a 97-run fifth-wicket stand, Iftikhar and Salman Ali Agha restarted Pakistan's pursuit before Shipley returned and ended the partnership by having Agha caught at mid-off in the 35th over. In the final overs, Iftikhar ran out of partners. Left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra finished with 3-65, while No. 11 Haris Rauf was run out while attempting a second run at the non-striker's end. Earlier, Young missed the chance to hit a hundred for the second time in the series as Pakistan's strategy of using two specialised leg-spinners paid off in the middle overs.

Usama Mir (2-53) and Shadab Khan (2-67), two leg spinners, shared four of the top five wickets. When Shadab identified a tiny outside edge on Young's bat, he took two crucial wickets. When Mark Chapman (43) attempted to accelerate with Latham, Shadab had Mohammad Rizwan catch him well down the leg side. Henry Nicholls, who took over for Daryl Mitchell at No. 3, was dismissed by Mir, and Latham holed out in the deep when attempting a huge shot before Pakistan's pacers took control in the final few overs.

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Cole McConchie (26) and Rachin Ravindra (28) made brief cameo appearances, but Pakistan recovered well in the final five overs, taking five wickets for 32 runs, including Shaheen Shah Afridi (3-46) and Haris Rauf (1-45). Due to their obligations in the Indian Premier League, eight of New Zealand's regular players were absent from the white-ball tour to Pakistan. After falling behind 2-0 in the series, New Zealand tied the T20 match 2-2.

Here's how fans reacted:

New Zealand Pakistan featured Twitter Reactions Pakistan vs New Zealand 2023