Mark Chapman stroked his third ODI century © Getty Riding on a career-best 132 from Mark Chapman and a fiery 26-ball 52 from debutant Muhammad Abbas, New Zealand set Pakistan a tall target of 345 in the first ODI in Napier. Pakistan had started well with the ball after opting to field, with Naseem Shah finding the edge of Will Young early before Akif Javed struck twice, first going through Nick Kelly’s defences and then bouncing out Henry Nicholls. At 50 for 3, New Zealand looked like they needed a big partnership, and that came in the form of a 198-run stand between Chapman and Daryl Mitchell, who in turn made 76. Chapman notched up a patient fifty off 63 balls before doubling down on his efforts and eventually taking only 31 more balls to get to his century. Mitchell played the perfect foil, scoring at a strike-rate of under 100 during his 84-ball knock. Just when Pakistan looked to claw back thanks to Irfan Khan dismissing both well-set batters in his consecutive overs, Abbas lit up the final overs. The left-hander showcased clean hitting and hit 3 fours and 3 sixes to lift New Zealand past 340. The absence of a specialist spinner hurt Pakistan in the middle overs. Their fifth-bowling option, a role shared by Salman Agha and Irfan Khan, conceded 118 runs in 10 overs. In addition to that, the visitors conceded 43 extras to compound their problems and now face a stuff target. Brief Scores: New Zealand 344/9 in 50 overs (Mark Chapman 132, Daryl Mitchell 76, Muhammad Abbas 52; Irfan Khan 3-51) vs Pakistan
