New Zealand blunder their way to series defeat after Imam, Babar fifties lift Pakistan

KARACHI: Debutant allrounder Cole McConchie made a bold unbeaten 64 and Tom Blundell (65) top-scored but their efforts went in vain as a series of errors consigned New Zealand to a 26-run defeat in the third ODI, giving hosts Pakistan an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match ODI series. Chasing Pakistan’s 287/6. build on superb fifties by opener Imam-ul-Haq (90) and skipper Babar Azam (54) at the National Stadium here, the Black Caps were dismissed for 261 in the last over and suffered their third successive defeat in the series.

After skipper Tom Latham won the toss and elected to field first, Tom Blundell, in his first appearance of the series, top-scored but was one of two unnecessary run-out victims as the tourists made a mess of their run chase.

The opener/wicketkeeper cruised to 65 from 78 balls before taking on the arm of Mohammad Wasim when attempting a second run and falling short. Blundell struck seven boundaries in his 112-minute stay at the crease.

Earlier, pacer Matt Henry was the star with the ball for New Zealand, taking 3-54 from his 10 overs, his early dismissal of the in-form opener Fakhar Zaman the highlight of his effort on Wednesday night.

Brief scores: Pakistan 287/6 in 50 overs (Imam ul-Haq 90, Babar Azam 54; Matt Henry 3-54, Adam Milne 2-56) beat New Zealand 261 all out in 49.1 overs (Tom Blundell 65, Cole McConchie 64 not out, Tom Latham 45; Naseem Shah 2-41, Mohammad Wasim 2-50, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-52) by 26 runs.. IANS

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