Jago Times "English Edition" Best Online Newspaper
Pakistan medium pace bowler Hasan Ali completed 100 one-day international wickets during the World Cup clash against New Zealand in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The match is being played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in India’s Bengaluru.
The 29-year-old dismissed New Zealand opener Devon Conway for 35 in the 11th over of the innings to reach the milestone in his 66th match.
Hasan is the 22nd bowler from his country to take 100 or more ODI wickets, with legendary left-armer Wasim Akram leading the way with 502 in 356 matches.
Shaheen Shah Afridi also reached the 100-wicket mark in Pakistan’s last match against Bangladesh in Kolkata.
Earlier, Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam won the toss against New Zealand and chose to field first.
South Africa’s 190-run thrashing of New Zealand on Wednesday has brought Pakistan right back in the mix for the race to the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Pakistan are two points off fourth-placed Black Caps, with the top four advancing to the semis, and although New Zealand have a greatly superior net run rate, Babar Azam’s men feel they have a lifeline when the two sides meet today.
New Zealand are currently fourth in the 10-team table with eight points after their opening four wins were followed by three defeats. Pakistan, with six points, need to win to stay in contention for a semi-final place.
Pakistan not only need to win against New Zealand to keep themselves alive heading into the last round of matches, but calculators will be out to see whether Babar’s men can surpass their opponents’ net run rate.
For now, the margins of victory that are being talked about include reaching their target with over 15 overs to spare while batting second.
Pakistan are used to those scenarios and luckily for them, after having lost four matches on the trot following wins in their first two matches, they found their momentum against a struggling Bangladesh side in their last game with their top guns firing.
New Zealand have welcomed back regular captain Kane Williamson following a thumb injury.
Williamson, who had only recovered from knee surgery just before the tournament, featured in the match against Bangladesh in Chennai on Oct 13 during which he fractured his thumb and missed the subsequent games.
Pakistan all-rounder Shadab is still unavailable for selection after suffering concussion during the one-wicket defeat against South Africa.
Besides Williamson, New Zealand named spinner Ish Sodhi in place of injured seamer Matt Henry, Will Young made way for the skipper while Mark Chapman replaced James Neesham.
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee and Trent Boult.