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Cricket

‘Babar ne apne performance se No. 1 banaya’ - Fans react as Pakistan become No. 1 ODI side after defeating New Zealand by 102 runs in 4th ODI

Here is how fans have congratulated Pakistan for becoming the new no. 1 ODI side after their fourth ODI win over the Kiwis

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Jennifer
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Pakistan vs New Zealand, 4th ODI

Pakistan vs New Zealand, 4th ODI (Image Source: Twitter)

On 5 May 2023, Pakistan (PAK) locked horns with New Zealand (NZ) in the fourth match of the ongoing five-match ODI series at home. The Men in Green already sealed the series by winning the first three matches. So, they were looking for another win to become the new no.1 ODI side while the Kiwis were looking to win the remaining matches.

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Speaking of the match, the Kiwis won the toss and elected to field first. For Pakistan, Fakhar Zaman and Shan Masood came out to open. But, Zaman scored only 14 runs while Masood scored 44 runs. Skipper Babar Azam notched up his 18th ODI century and scored 107 runs off 117 balls, including 10 boundaries.

Pakistan were fifth on the rankings before this series against the Kiwis 

During the innings, he also became the fastest batter to score 5000+ runs in ODIs in terms of innings (97). He broke Hashim Amla's record of scoring 5000 runs in 101 innings. After that, Agha Salman scored 58 runs off 46 balls, including four fours and two sixes. Shaheen Shah Afridi also played a cameo of 23* runs off just seven balls. As a result, Pakistan scored 334 runs for six wickets in 50 overs. For New Zealand, Matt Henry was the star bowler with three wickets for 65 runs in 10 overs. In reply, NZ got bundled out for 232 runs in 43.4 overs and PAK won the game by 102 runs.

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Skipper Tom Latham scored 60 runs off 76 balls, including five fours. For the Men in Green, Usama Mir grabbed four wickets while Mohammad Wasim and Haris Rauf took three and two wickets respectively. Babar Azam won the Player of the Match award for his century. With this win, the home side are now leading 4-0 in this series and will look for a clean sweep with another win in the upcoming game. But, this win also made Pakistan the new no. 1 side in ODIs for the first time in their history. Before this series, they were fifth on the rankings with a rating of 106. However, they need to win the next game to remain on the top otherwise, a loss can make them slip to the third position. 

Here is how fans have lauded Pakistan for becoming the new no. 1 ODI side: 

 

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