Tom Latham:
It (the pitch) probably slowed up a little bit. Just a couple of partnerships here and there, and things could have been a little different. We struggled a touch in the middle. At the halfway mark, we were happy and the bowlers certainly improved after the first two games. From a batting point of view, we had a really good start. We just could not continue that momentum after we lost a couple of wickets. When you are chasing scores like that, you need back-to-back partnerships. We were not quite at our best (from a batting point of view) today.
Babar Azam:
The pitch was a little slow but the partnership that Imam and I built. Then, the way Rizwan played and the way Shadab finished – it got us up to 280. The bowlers were also outstanding. Shadab and Nawaz started well but unfortunately, Nawaz got hit. Agha bowled nine overs and that was outstanding. In ODIs, we are trying to chase 350 and trying to defend 300 as well. That is what we are trying to do day by day. Focus is now to not relax and come out strongly for the next two matches. (On bench strength) We tried to do it in the second game and we tried communicating that. We did that in T20Is as well and hopefully, we can do that moving forward, with back-to-back series. Hopefully, we can continue to give our 100%.
Imam-ul-Haq, Player of the Match:
(On his partnership with Fakhar) When you play for the last six years with the same opener, it helps. We knew these wickets would not be the same as Rawalpindi wickets, so it was important to give respect. We knew it was a 280-290 track. We are planning and so far, it has been very good for us (Fakhar and me). Me and Babar were talking about getting a good partnership. If we got out, it would be difficult for the middle order. We were thinking of 260 but it helped to get to a good position after 40 overs.
Pakistan vs New Zealand Highlights today. 3rd ODI (D/N), Wednesday 3-5-2023, New Zealand tour of Pakistan 2023, National Stadium, Karachi.
Pakistan will bat first after losing the toss.
Pakistan team: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan, Agha Salman, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah
New Zealand team: Will Young, Tom Blundell (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c), Mark Chapman, Henry Nicholls, Cole McConchie, Adam Milne, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry
Head to Head In ODI’s: 112
Pakistan Won: 58
New Zealand Won: 50
Pakistan ODI Rankings: 5th
New Zealand ODI Rankings: 2nd
Form guide
(Last five matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWLLW
New Zealand LLWWL
Match Timings: 10:30 AM GMT | 3:30 PM Local
Umpires – Faisal Afridi, Langton Rusere
TV Umpire – Joel Wilson
Match Referee – Chris Broad
Reserve Umpire – Rashid Riaz
Match number – ODI no. 4573
