Abu Dhabi: Shahid Afridi has been pretty open about his desire to be the captain of the ODI team of Pakistan and rumours of his differences with current captain Younis Khan have been picking up steam. Well, his brilliant all-round performance on Tuesday in the first ODI against New Zealand coupled with a duck from Younis Khan will do nothing to quell further talk on the issue.

Shahid Afirid shone with both bat and ball as Pakistan took a 1-0 lead by beating New Zealand by a massive margin of 138 runs in the first ODI at Abu Dhabi Stadium. The all-rounder smashed a blistering 50-ball 70 and then took two for 46 in his 10 overs to lead Pakistan to a comfortable victory.

Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Pakistan got off to the worst possible start, losing two wickets with no runs on the board. Salman Butt’s comeback didn’t prove to be something to remember for the young left hander as he edged one from Shane Bond to wicket-keeper Brendan McCullum, leaving Pakistan at 0-1 in the first over.

Tim Southee bowled the second over of the innings and it was a maiden. Shane Bond then removed Pakistan skipper Younis Khan for a duck to leave Pakistan at 0-2 in the third over. Opener Khalid Latif and Mohammad Yousuf then consolidated the innings with a 57-run stand for the third wicket before Yousuf was run out for 30. Pakistan slipped further as youngster Umar Akmal was cleaned up by Daniel Vettori to leave them struggling at 75 for 4 in the 24^th over.

Shahid Afridi then joined Latif at the crease and both of them added 101 for the fifth wicket to bring Pakistan back into the game. Afridi, vice captain of the side, was instrumental in initially stepping up the run-rate with his bold hitting as he smashed three sixes and four boundaries during his 30th half-century.

Afridi hit Vettori for a six before smashing two off successive deliveries of Nathan McCullum. He hit Bond for a straight drive to reach his half-century off 36 deliveries, his first after 33 matches. Afridi’s last ODI fifty came against Zimbabwe at Multan last year.

Paceman Jacob Oram finally got Afridi off a miscued shot, caught at short fine-leg in the 39th over to break a damaging partnership. He made 70 off 50 balls which included 4 boundaries and 3 huge sixes. Latif followed, bowled by Vettori’s viscious arm ball two overs later. Latif hit only two boundaries during his 112-ball knock of 64.

Kamran Akmal then gave the innings final touches with a belligerent 43-ball 67 laced with four sixes and five boundaries as Pakistan ran rampage, collecting 107 in the last ten overs. Kamran’s innings was special as he made full use of the power-play, and added 86 off just 37 balls for the seventh wicket with Abdul Razzaq, who made a 20-ball 26. Pakistan eventually ended with a more than competitive total of 287-9 in their 50 overs.

Chasing 288 to win, New Zealand never got off the block as Umar Gul set the pace for Pakistan early by sending back Brendon McCullum (21) and Martin Guptill (five) early. Ross Taylor (zero) and Scott Styris (five) too, making a return to the national side, disappointed the Kiwis.

Opener Aaron Redmond (52) held one end up and with skipper Daniel Vettori (38) stitched a responsible 69-run stand before falling leg-before to Saeed Ajmal. An Afridi double blow off consecutive balls was the final nail in the coffin as Vettori and Nathan McCullum walked back with New Zealand tottering at 139-7. Razzaq then joined the party in the next over by snaring Jacob Oram (nine). New Zealand lost their last five wickets for just 10 runs within five overs.

New Zealand was eventually bowled out for a poultry 149 runs in 39.2 overs, giving Pakistan a 138 runs win. For Pakistan, all the bowlers chipped in with useful contributions with Gul, Razzaq, Afridi and Ajmal picking up 2 wickets each.

The three-match one-day series was relocated to Abu Dhabi after New Zealand refused to tour Pakistan over security fears.

Brief Scores:

Pakistan 287 for 9 (Latif 64, Afridi 70, Kamran 67*) beat New Zealand 149 (Redmond 52, Vettori 38, Afridi 2-46) by 138 runs

Man of the Match: Shahid Afridi

Tagged with: Aaron Redmond, Abu Dhabi, Brendan McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Kamran Akmal, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Yousuf, New Zealand, Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal, Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Shane Bond, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Younis Khan

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