Misbah-ul-Haq masterminds narrow win

Pakistan continued to show they are masters of making mountains out of molehills, but Misbah-ul-Haq's supremely paced innings and Sohail Tanvir's nerveless hitting took them to a tense win in Napier that puts them 2-1 up. New Zealand had earlier showed the benefits of stacking their side with allrounders as they recovered from an all-too-familiar top-order collapse to post a respectable total but it didn't prove enough.

On a pancake-flat track and with McLean Park's short boundaries and a quick outfield to assist them, Pakistan looked to be gliding towards victory when Misbah and Younis Khan played safety-first cricket to take them to 173 for 3 in 37 overs. With the batting Powerplay in hand, two set batsmen at the crease and a host of heavy-hitters to follow, New Zealand seemed down and out.

The first blip was the run-out of Younis who slipped when attempting to regain his ground after tipping the ball to point. The new batsman, Umar Akmal, meandered to 10 when the Powerplay was taken. As has the case in recent matches, the Powerplay resulted in immediate wickets: Umar holed out to extra cover and Shahid Afridi was trapped in front. With Pakistan at 198 for 6, New Zealand were back in it.

The match swung again in the next over as Abdul Razzaq clubbed a mighty six, and Misbah calmly picked off two effortless, wristy boundaries as Tim Southee went for 17. New Zealand clawed back again when Hamish Bennett had Razzaq skying a catch to Vettori in the 47th over.

Twenty-four needed off the final three overs - enough time for more twists. Misbah, yet again, seemed to have sealed it when he slammed Scott Styris beyond midwicket off the first ball of the 48th, and then followed it up with a punch past mid-on for four. No. 10 Wahab Riaz then decided to go for glory instead of turning over the strike to Misbah, and his swipe ballooned to the keeper.

Only two wickets remained, and there was a genuine threat of Pakistan being bowled out. Tanvir then showed that though his bowling isn't at the level it was before his back injury, his hitting retains the ferocity of old. He forehanded three fours in the penultimate over from Southee to sew up the victory with six balls remaining.

Tanvir may have applied the finishing touches but it was Misbah who had done the grunt work earlier on. When Pakistan were wobbling at 84 for 3, Misbah and Younis stroked the ball into the gaps for singles to keep the required rate in check. Their 89-run partnership had put Pakistan in charge, before the slew of wickets led to an exciting denouement.

It was Misbah's finest one-day effort, and his first significant contribution in the format in a long time. With 18 days to go for the World Cup, Pakistan are still without a captain, and this series hasn't made the decision easier for the selectors. Afridi was panned after the heavy defeat in the first match, then praised after his electric half-century in the Christchurch victory, and Misbah has now pushed his case with this match-winning innings.

New Zealand continue to desperately seek someone who can provide Misbah-like calmness to their famously fragile top order. Today, their stuttering batting unit squandered another chance to hit form on a placid track, with shot-selection that will leave John Wright fuming. Martin Guptill flicked to midwicket after impressing early on, Jamie How pulled imperiously but straight to deep square leg, Ross Taylor's expansive drive ended in first slip's hands, and Kane Williamson chipped the ball to long-on.

The home side had tumbled to 79 for 5 before Brendon McCullum jumpstarted the innings with a typically energetic cameo. James Franklin then led the rescue with his third half-century in four innings; after a watchful start, he cut loose in the Powerplay reeling off four boundaries in two overs. Afridi handcuffed him with a legstump line in the 44th over and had him holing out to deep fine leg.

The batting recovery was completed by Nathan McCullum, who blasted his way to his maiden one-day half-century. The highlights of his innings were a couple of high-risk paddles for four against the quicks and a murderous carve over cover for six in the penultimate over.

Franklin and the McCullum brothers helped New Zealand put on 170 in the second half of the innings despite the top-order collapse, but even that proved insufficient as Misbah continued his prolific tour.

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Hafeez, Afridi star in series-levelling win

A solid maiden ODI century from Mohammad Hafeez, a monstrous assault in the death overs led by Shahid Afridi and a spirited performance in the field were features of a roaring comeback by Pakistan in the ODI series, which they leveled 1-1 with a 43-run win at the AMI Stadium in Christchurch. Hafeez counter-attacked after Pakistan had been dented in their start and dropped anchor in the middle overs to set up a launching pad for Afridi and Umar Akmal to smash 126 runs in the last ten overs. Faced with a stiff chase, New Zealand fought hard but timely breakthroughs meant they were always struggling to measure up to the asking rate, eventually leading to their downfall.

The greenish appearance of the track proved deceptive as the movement off the seam that Ross Taylor had banked on when opting to field proved negligible. At the same time, conditions weren't too easy for the batsmen early on either as the pitch played slow and low and the ball didn't come on. Hafeez, who has often squandered starts since his promotion to the top of the order, lost two partners, Ahmed Shehzad and Kamran Akmal, to deliveries that appeared to stop on the batsmen. But New Zealand's seamers lacked discipline and failed to apply pressure consistently, which allowed Hafeez to wrest the initiative.

The short square boundaries at the AMI Stadium were inevitably favoured as the bowlers didn't help their cause by consistently pitching short. Not long after he had nipped out two wickets, Tim Southee was pulled for consecutive boundaries by Hafeez; Hamish Bennett, struggling to bowl into the wind and dropping significantly in pace, was welcomed with a swipe to fine leg and six over long-on while Jacob Oram, in the very over he dismissed Younis Khan, was dispatched over midwicket.

New Zealand had a few chances to limit the damage. Hafeez was dropped on 49 by Brendon McCullum, diving full length to his right and failing to hold on to a difficult catch; Misbah-ul-Haq, who added 94 with Hafeez, was given a reprieve through a missed stumping by McCullum, and Bennett dropped a relatively simple catch off Afridi that, otherwise, could have checked the one-way traffic towards the end of the innings.

Even as Pakistan tried to rebuild their innings, Hafeez was at ease, displaying an excellent ability to adapt, rotating the strike with Misbah and threading the gaps with adept footwork and timing. He stepped out to smash debutant Luke Woodcock for a straight boundary, lofted Oram over the in-field and, after securing his century and taking the batting Powerplay, scooped and slogged Southee for successive fours before signing off by heaving Kyle Mills for a six.

By the time he fell, Umar had warmed up with a couple of meaty hits and Afridi only had to join in. He targeted Oram, who was struggling with his lengths, in the 46th over, hammering him for two sixes on the leg side and a boundary through cover. The seamers either bowled too full or dragged the ball too short and Afridi, paddling, swatting and slapping, collected sixes over fine leg, cover point and long-on on his way to equalling the fastest half-century - off 19 balls - by a batsman in New Zealand, a record also held by McCullum.

New Zealand began brightly in their reply with Martin Guptill and Jamie How capitalising on the short boundaries to add 44 in quick time. But Pakistan's seamers, unlike the New Zealand bowlers, relied more on variations in pace with Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz and Umar Gul ensuring the pressure of a big chase never diminished. How holed out to deep midwicket, failing to pick the slower ball; Ross Taylor, after a watchful start, stabbed at a good-length delivery to be caught at slip by Younis and Guptill, after four boundary-less overs in the second Powerplay, punched Riaz to point where Shehzad clung on to a low chance.

The hosts were in the hunt when Scott Styris and Kane Williamsom preserved their wickets, picked out the gaps to ensure a steady flow of ones and twos and accumulated 81 runs for the fourth wicket to stage a recovery. But while the seamers had picked up the wickets and restrained the batsmen, the slow bowlers, too, proved difficult to step up against, adding to the pressure on New Zealand. Afridi and Hafeez got through their overs quickly and gave little away. Hafeez eventually broke the stand as Styris failed to clear deep midwicket and when Williamson and McCullum departed within three runs of each other - bowled by Riaz and run out by Umar respectively - the game was all but sealed.

Pakistan's approach to their innings was reminiscent of the strategy they had adopted in the 1999 World Cup, progressing slowly with wickets in hand in the middle overs to set the stage for a violent surge in the last ten. Not a bad thing to prepare for the 2011 edition in much the same way.

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Rain wipes out second one-dayer

Pakistan 31 for 0 v New Zealand Abandoned

Queenstown is the place for adrenaline-junkies but there was little excitement on Wednesday as persistent rain allowed only 4.2 overs of play in the second one-dayer between Pakistan and New Zealand.

There were showers early in the morning, but it cleared up before start of play, raising hopes of the fans who had gathered. The rains returned, however, soon after Daniel Vettori chose to field, as every international captain has done after winning the toss in Queenstown.

New Zealand stuck with their plan of giving James Franklin the new ball, ahead of the much quicker Hamish Bennett, and it didn't work as 19-year-old Ahmed Shehzad took 16 off his two overs. Shehzad, playing his first one-dayer in 20 months, showed no signs of rustiness as he smashed the third ball of the match over square leg for six. He also slapped Tim Southee for a couple of fours before the rains came back, and stayed through the day to cause the match to be abandoned.

The third one-dayer of the series is in Christchurch on Saturday, and the bad news is that rain is predicted during that game as well.

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Misbah, Younis set up drawn match and series win

New Zealand 356 (Vettori 110, Gul 4-87) and 293 (Guptill 73, Gul 4-61) drew Pakistan 376 (Misbah 99, Martin 4-91) and 226 for 5 (Younis 81, Misbah 70*)

Pakistan weathered a hostile opening spell that reduced them to 42 for 3 in the first hour, worked their way to safety in the second session, and made a half-hearted attempt to win the Test before settling for a draw that gave them the series 1-0. It was their first victory outside the subcontinent since the triumph in New Zealand in 2003-04, and their first anywhere since 2006-07. It was another impressive result for a team that has managed to hold its own on the field - with Test wins against England and Australia, and a drawn series against South Africa - despite facing a mountain of problems off it.

Pakistan's resistance was led by Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan for the second time in the match, after Chris Martin and Tim Southee had hustled out the top three. The action unraveled at a furious pace in the morning before settling into classic Test-match grind during the afternoon. New Zealand's woes were compounded by Daniel Vettori's disappointing show, on a pitch where even Mohammad Hafeez's part-time fare had turned viciously on day four. As things transpired, Pakistan adopted the path of complete caution, which ultimately left them short of time to push for a win against an attack that withered, despite a late surge from Vettori in his last Test as captain.

New Zealand's bowlers began in stark contrast to the manner in which they finished. Martin bounded in from wide of the crease and bent his inswingers into the right-handers, while Southee got his legcutters to straighten lethally. Their menacing rhythm crippled Pakistan's chase before they could find their bearings.

Taufeeq Umar succumbed first ball, as Southee got one to land on off stump, straighten and burst through the forward press to hit the back pad. Martin got the inswingers going, and mixed them cleverly to plant seeds of doubt in the batsmen's minds. Hafeez was conscious to push forward and negate the inward movement, but ended up groping for the ones that held their line. He played one off a thick outside edge through the covers, and survived a possible edge off Martin that umpire Rod Tucker did not spot.

Tempers frayed, and words were exchanged between Southee and Hafeez following a couple of pacy short balls that were dispatched to the boundary, but Martin plugged away without a fuss. Azhar Ali walked into a flick to be trapped by another inswinger, and Younis barely survived a couple of deliveries that whistled past his outside edge. Hafeez eventually ran out of luck, as Martin enticed him to edge one behind, and the dejected batsmen slapped his helmet with the bat in admonishment as he walked off.

Younis overcame the uncertain start to settle down with an assurance that justified his enviable fourth-innings record. With the ball losing its shine, Martin's inswing disappeared, allowing Younis to pick him for boundaries behind square, straight and through gully. Vettori held the key, but his ineffectiveness was epitomised by the fact that his only weapon was the quicker one that skidded through. Younis handled him with clear and decisive footwork, while Misbah resorted to playing inside the line with soft hands.

With the main bowlers failing in their opening spells after lunch, Vettori resorted to James Franklin who nearly produced the breakthrough. With the score on 108, Misbah carved him uppishly past the covers, his only major error on a day of immense resolve. On either side of that blemish, Misbah was so efficient that he was almost completely unnoticed. He only opened up with tea in sight, pulling and steering Southee off the back foot to take his side past 150.

Misbah's approach meant the spotlight was completely on Younis, and his trademark flourish shone through despite the dullness of the proceedings. His hallmark in the first innings was his shot selection, but today it was his judgment. Brent Arnel tested him with a slew of full deliveries, but Younis played him out before capitalising on a half-volley. When the spinners - Vettori and Martin Guptill - came back in search of turn, Younis pounced, stealing five boundaries to leave New Zealand worried. His dismissal at the stroke of tea, edging a harmless delivery behind, was completely out of character and against the run of play, and it decisively altered Pakistan's approach after the break.

The final session was an anti-climactic period of attrition, with both sides more anxious to avoid defeat than to push for a victory. With Younis gone, Misbah fastened the shutters he had already downed. Defending 114 in a minimum of 33.2 overs, New Zealand were not keen on a full frontal attack, either. Asad Shafiq was on a pair for 22 balls before opening his account with a six and a four through Vettori's open straight fields. He later unfurled a couple of pleasing hook shots when a tiring Southee pitched short. Misbah was not tempted so easily, scoring almost exclusively when he was fed on his pads, to move to his sixth successive half-century, three of them unbeaten.

Realising that Pakistan had shut shop, Vettori brought some fielders close in and removed Shafiq in the 84th over. It was the first time in the day that he had managed to look threatening, and it had come too late for his side. His loud appeals as the game sputtered to a close were in contrast to Misbah's unwavering calmness. The battle may have ended in stalemate, but Misbah had won the war for his side.

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Pakistan seal win on dramatic day

Pakistan 367 (Shafiq 83, Misbah 62, Arnel 4-95) and 21 for 0 beat New Zealand 275 (Southee 56, McCullum 56, Ahmed 4-63) and 110 (McCullum 35, Rehman 3-24, Gul 3-28) by 10 wickets

What Pakistan inflicted on New Zealand on a dramatic third day in Hamilton was nothing short of an embarassment. On a still-placid track, the hosts were victims of some incisive Pakistan bowling but let themselves down through some equally inept batting, transforming a Test that had been closely-fought on the first two days into a hopelessly one-sided contest in just one session.

Pakistan's build-up to this Test had been hijacked by the spot-fixing hearings in Doha but they managed to infuse plenty of significance to a Test that otherwise appeared as a sideshow. Missing several of their first-choice players, for reasons ranging from allegations of corruption to indiscipline and fitness, Pakistan were propelled to victory on the back of strong performances from their inexperienced players under a fresh captain. Misbah-ul-Haq's team had held South Africa to two draws in the UAE, but this win, for all the distractions off the field and though against a less prominent opposition, would go miles in restoring some pride after a turbulent few months.

For New Zealand, who had challenged India in their Test series there, it marked another low, and a dispiriting start - discounting the Twenty20 series prior to this - to John Wright's tenure as coach.

Pakistan's lower order, including its bowlers, had played a crucial role in stretching the first-innings lead to 92 after the loss of two early wickets in the day. And the confidence with which they went about extending their team's advantage with the bat, showed in the way they attacked on the field in the session after tea.

While New Zealand dropped catches, Pakistan hardly gave anything away. While New Zealand's seamers often overpitched to the tailenders, the Pakistan bowlers backed their superior pace by varying their lengths. And while Daniel Vettori was negotiated safely, his left-arm spinning counterpart Abdur Rehman never seemed far from taking a wicket.

Rehman was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers in the first innings, strangling New Zealand's run-flow with a spate of maidens in the session after lunch on the first day. It was no surprise then that Misbah turned to him as early as the ninth over in New Zealand's second attempt.

Rehman doesn't rely too much on spin but plenty on alterations in place and length. He should have had Brendon McCullum out lbw almost immediately with a quick straighter one, but just an over later he fooled Tim McIntosh, who stepped out to a flighted delivery that was held back, played inside the line and was stumped. The psychological edge he had gained over Martin Guptill in the first innings, tying him down with five straight maidens, reaped rewards in the second, as the batsman top-edged an ill-planned slog-sweep. The icing on the cake was the wicket of Vettori, done in by a bit of turn from the footmarks and trapped plumb.

Rehman had been the beneficiary of three dropped catches during his stand of 72 with Adnan Akmal that took Pakistan in to the lead, but, barring an early lapse from Taufeeq Umar at slip, the visitors were ruthless on the field. Ross Taylor had begun his innings with a couple of confident drives but he was unable to beat a direct-hit from Misbah while attempting a risky single. And when Kane Williamson inside-edged Wahab Riaz onto his pads, the spontaneous appeal for an lbw did not distract Azhar Ali at slip from diving low to claim a catch that was later upheld.

In the interim, Riaz was fortunate to get a caught-behind decision against McCullum - the ball deflected off his thigh - and his extra pace accounted for Jesse Ryder first ball as he failed to bring his bat down in time against an inswinging yorker. Umar Gul wrapped up the innings, when he had debutant Reece Young caught at deep square leg off a short delivery, and then bounced Chris Martin not long after he had completed 100 runs in Test cricket. From 60 for 2, New Zealand collapsed to 110 all out, including losing four wickets for one run and the humiliation was only 19 runs away.

New Zealand had tried hard to even things out on the third morning, but as has been the trend throughout this Test, Pakistan pulled them back to surge ahead. Williamson and Southee's resistance in the first innings ended quickly on the second day, Misbah and Shafiq led the team's recovery after they had been reduced to 107 for 4, and Adnan's counterattack today compensated for the early departure of the overnight duo.

When the seamers strayed on the pads, Adnan flicked them elegantly to the fine-leg boundary; he cut powerfully when they dropped short and drove when they pitched up. His boundary-filled 66-ball stay not only gave Pakistan the lead but eased the burden off those who followed, and their carefree batting yielded more runs. His approach rubbed off on Rehman, who broke a 30-ball runless drought with two sixes off Vettori, while Gul and Tanvir Ahmed did their bit down the order, including smacking Brent Arnel for 15 in an over. The last four wickets added 111, and by the time Martin claimed Ahmed as his 500th first-class victim, the foundation for victory had been firmly laid.

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New Zealand let it slip after lunch

Tea New Zealand 160 for 5 (Young 2*, Williamson 12*, Rehman 2-32) v Pakistan

Pakistan compensated for the lack of assistance from the Seddon Park pitch with a more determined effort after lunch that undermined a strong foundation laid for the New Zealand innings by Brendon McCullum. His dismissal shortly after the break, the subsequent stagnation against Abdur Rehman's left-arm spin and the run-out of Jesse Ryder, just when he was trying to inject some fluency to the innings, tilted the scales after it had seemed Pakistan had erred by opting to field on a dryish surface.

New Zealand had themselves to blame for the turn in the tide. Their batsmen didn't take advantage of opportunities given, through umpiring errors or lapses in the field, and lost track during a shift in momentum brought about by Martin Guptill's self-imposed grind. He played out five consecutive maidens against Rehman, who kept a tight line around middle and off and despite the lack of turn was met respectfully with a straight bat that seemed devoid of intention to force the pace.

It was McCullum's wicket, though, that was the trigger. Since giving up wicketkeeping duties in Tests, McCullum has enjoyed his role at the top of the order and looked set for a big score when he took off this morning. He went after Umar Gul in the first over, driving him over the in-field and despite there being a deep point and two fielders square on the leg side, showed no inhibitions playing the cut and the pull with success. He was even more ruthless against deliveries that were pitched up, driving Younis Khan and Wahab Riaz to the extra-cover boundary before dispatching Gul over the ropes soon after lunch. He followed up with a mow over midwicket for another six but fell to a trap, slashing Gul the same over to a perfectly-placed deep point.

Rehman, brought on after lunch, attacked with a slip and two close-in catchers on either side of the pitch. He bowled quicker through the air, from a flat trajectory and only managed to extract some spin when he flighted the ball. None of this, however, was by any means threatening but the nagging line sent Guptill into a shell that he only managed to free himself from with his wicket.

Balls were either pushed back to Rehman, or knocked around past the close-in fielders but the singles were absent. Guptill had looked quite assured against pace, leaving deliveries in the channel outside off in the morning session where there was a bit of nip, and kicking things off with a couple of lovely straight drives. But his misery against Rehman - he had scored 4 off 44 balls against him - ended when the bowler had given him the best possible chance to score; the full toss, however, was gifted as a catch to cover.

In the interim, Taylor, who had a poor time in the Tests against India, feathered one to the keeper as he tried to cut Rehman while Ryder, keen to restore the advantage gained earlier in the day, batted enterprisingly. Deliveries strayed on the pads by the spinners were deftly shown the way to the fine-leg boundary and when the opportunity came, Rehman was slog-swept for a six over midwicket. But a moment of ill luck robbed him of his wicket as he was run-out backing up too far as Wahab Riaz deflected a straight drive onto the stumps at the non-striker's end. Despite his half-century, it was a forgettable day for the man who played that drive, Guptill.

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All-round Razzaq flattens New Zealand

Pakistan 183 for 6 (Shehzad 54, Razzaq 34*, Franklin 2-12) beat New Zealand 80 (Styris 45, Afridi 4-14, Razzaq 3-13) by 103 runs

Abdul Razzaq pummeled an 11-ball 34 to propel Pakistan to 183, before returning to flatten the New Zealand top order with the new ball, as the visitors stormed to a 103-run victory in the third Twenty20 in Christchurch. Razzaq capitalised on some inexperienced death bowling from Adam Milne to hammer 31 from the last nine deliveries of the innings, and picked up three wickets for 13 as New Zealand imploded dramatically, effectively surrendering the game within the first three overs of their chase.

The chase was derailed almost before it had begun as the top four batsmen all collected ducks. Martin Guptill began the catastrophic collapse when he edged Razzaq to point, pushing away from his body with hard hands to one that nipped away a touch. Jesse Ryder turned in his third failure of the series in the following over when he top edged a pull, and Dean Brownlie's decision to sneak a quick single to get off the mark backfired when Shahid Afridi effected a rare Pakistani direct hit. Ross Taylor was unfortunate to be adjudged lbw to one that struck him slightly above the knee roll, but didn't do himself any favours by playing all around the straight delivery. Three overs into the innings, New Zealand had lost four wickets for three runs, and when James Franklin lost his head, and his middle stump, two overs later, there was only one direction the match was heading. New Zealand had made 11 runs for the loss of five wickets from their first five overs. Pakistan were 51 for no loss at the same stage.

Styris resisted bravely, throwing his bat to collect a couple of boundaries over cover in Razzaq's last over, and even swatting a six over midwicket to give the Christchurch crowd something to cheer about, but with the required run-rate tipping 15, and wickets falling regularly at the other end, there was little he could do. Peter McGlashan dragged Abdur Rehman onto the stumps attempting to reverse sweep and Nathan McCullum didn't hang around long, succumbing to Shahid Afridi's straighter one. Styris eventually fell for 45, and Afridi wasted little time cleaning up the tail - an 134 kph arm ball to dismiss Tim Southee first ball being the highlight of his spell. Styris aside, none of the other New Zealand batsmen managed double figures. They made 28 collectively.

Pakistan's impressive total was set up by an explosive opening partnership between Ahmad Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez, who blasted 81 in 8.4 overs to set pulses racing at the AMI stadium. Shehzad in particular, was quick to punish anything on a length, peppering the midwicket boundary repeatedly, while also driving through the covers when the ball was pitched up. Hafeez too got into the action scooping Mills over the shoulder for four, before unfurling a wristy swat that sent the ball sailing over deep square-leg a few overs later.

The introduction of slow bowling into the attack did the trick for New Zealand though, as both openers perished attempting to maintain the frenetic scoring rate, and three more wickets followed soon after. Younis Khan was run out, attempting a suicidal single, Asad Shafiq was caught on the boundary after having used up 15 deliveries for his 8 and Shahid Afridi departed for a quickfire 14.

Umar Akmal kept Pakistan ticking with some intelligent hitting, but it was Abdul Razzaq who boosted the visitors' total and swung the momentum decidedly Pakistan's way with a brutal display of power hitting. Razzaq swung in the V, launching Tim Southee twice over midwicket before taking on Milne in the last over. Razzaq smoked the short deliveries over cover, and sent the fuller ones racing along the ground to the boundary, and 19 runs came off the last five deliveries, despite Milne's best efforts to vary the pace and find the blockhole.

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Southee's five help New Zealand end losing streak

New Zealand 146 for 5 (Guptill 54) beat Pakistan 143 for 9 (Southee 5-18 by five wickets

The youngsters shone for New Zealand as they defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the first Twenty20 at Eden Park. Tim Southee ripped the heart out of the Pakistan line-up with a brutal spell of five for 18 in four overs, and Martin Guptill's fearless half-century ensured the chase went smoothly for the hosts. The visitors had rocketed to 58 for 1 in 5.5 overs before Southee struck five times in nine deliveries to derail the Pakistan middle order, using his height and pace to torment the batsmen on the quick, hard surface and throwing in the odd slower ball to keep them guessing. Guptill then attacked the Pakistan bowling with style and chutzpah, to get his team off to a rapid start, and continued to attack throughout his innings, despite the clatter of wickets at the other end.

Martin Guptill began the New Zealand chase with gusto as he flayed Abdul Razzaq for 15 in his first over with two commanding strikes and a tickle down to fine leg, before hoisting Shoaib Akhtar for a giant six over square-leg. The pace of the Auckland pitch showed up three balls later as Jesse Ryder's thick edge off Shoaib flew to slip, standing almost at the edge of the circle, at shoulder height. Guptill continued to make merry despite the loss, hitting Shoaib for another six on the leg-side before the paceman struck again, this time to remove debutant Dean Brownlie for five.

Scott Styris played an audacious uppercut off his second ball for six, but was undone soon after by Shoaib, attempting an ugly slog across the line to an indipper that pegged back leg stump. Shoiab had another, and the aeroplane was on show for the third time in three overs, but although there were breakthroughs, Guptill's fireworks at the other end had boosted the score to 55 in five overs.

The Pakistan spinners provided some reprieve, but Guptill motored to his maiden Twenty20 half-century in 23 deliveries, having hit Wahab Riaz for consecutive boundaries and lofting Mohammad Hafeez for six over long on. The dazzling knock came to an end when he was run out attempting an ill-advised single on 53, after having pushed the Pakistan fielders to the limit with swift singles during the entirety of his stay.

Ross Taylor was content to cruise alongside James Franklin while the spinners operated, with his side well ahead of the required rate. Hafeez picked up his second wicket when he hurried one onto Franklin, but with 29 runs to get in more than five overs, the victory was all but secured. A couple of trademark slog sweeps later, New Zealand were within striking distance, and Peter McGlashan finished the job for the hosts with 2.5 overs to spare.

The Pakistan innings too was off to a rollicking start, thanks to some bloody minded batting by the Pakistan openers. Shahid Afridi, having promoted himself to the top of order, wasted little time unfurling his signature slogs, while Hafeez also swung across the line with abandon to propel Pakistan to 36 in 3.5 overs, before the wickets began to tumble.

Afridi was caught at mid-on by a backpedalling Ross Taylor, after New Zealand's other debutant, Adam Milne, had shelled a chance in the previous delivery, but Pakistan kept the foot on the pedal as they raced to 50 in five overs. A devastating spell from Tim Southee was enough to cripple the innings, as he blasted out five wickets in a staggering nine ball burst, which left Pakistan reeling at 68 for 6. Southee's barrage included a hat-trick - New Zealand's second in Twenty20 internationals which yielded the scalps of Younis Khan, Hafeez and Umar Akmal, as he superbly utilised the pace and bounce on offer, and varied his pace beautifully to lay the Pakistan middle order bare.

Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz were on hand for Pakistan, both scoring invaluable thirties as the tail enders pushed Pakistan towards respectability with some sensible batting and a flurry of boundaries towards the end. Southee's spell however, had done the damage, and 143 was always going to be challenging to defend on a pacy pitch with miniscule straight boundaries.

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