LINCOLN (New Zealand): Michael Pollard’s memorable 153 laid the platform for the youthful New Zealand President’s XI to claim Pakistan’s scalp for a second successive match on Tuesday.

The opener’s masterful knock enabled the home side to sneak home by one wicket with one ball to spare in a tight finish at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval after Pakistan had posted 267-7 from their 50 overs.

Tail-ender Kyle Jamieson held his nerve and scored a boundary from the penultimate ball of the match off Sohail Khan after he and Ed Nuttall came together with seven required from nine balls.

Five runs were needed from the final over and after Jamieson struck the first ball for two before three scoreless deliveries, he hit the winning four.

Pollard held his side’s innings together after the President’s XI slumped to 59-4. He finally found some middle order support from Shawn Hicks and Todd Astle on his way to carving out 153 from 132 balls with 16 fours and three sixes.

But he was dismissed in the 47th over with 23 still required and it was left to the lower order.

The Pakistan bowlers showed improvement on Tuesday with Mohammad Irfan taking 3-39 and Bliawal Bhatti 3-42 after they failed to defend a total of 313 in the opening match on Sunday.

Earlier, captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal showed some batting form ahead of next month’s World Cup as their 116-run stand for the sixth wicket helped Pakistan overcame a slow start to post a competitive total after struggling at 79-5.

Jamieson, with assistance from fellow pace bowlers Nuttall and Logan van Beek, did the early damage.

Misbah and Umar had put on 105 for the fifth wicket on Sunday and the latter, who made 68 in the first game, upped the tempo with an 82-ball 77 with eight fours and three sixes before he was bowled by Pakistan stand-in Ehsan Adil midway through the 40th over.

Misbah couldn’t better his 107 from Sunday, but batted through for an unbeaten 88 from 132 balls with 11 fours and a six.

Pakistan now go on to play two One-day Internationals against New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday and Napier next Tuesday.

Scoreboard

PAKISTAN:

Mohammad Hafeez c van Beek b Jamieson18
Sarfraz Ahmed c Blundell b Nuttal 0 Younis Khan c van Beek b Jamieson 7 Haris Sohail c Jamieson b van Beek 6 Sohaib Maqsood c van Beek b Johnston 25 Umar Akmal b Ehsan 77 Misbah-ul-Haq not out 88 Bilawal Bhatti run out 23

EXTRAS (LB-4, W-19) 23

TOTAL (for seven wkts, 50 overs) 267

FALL OF WKTS: 1-4, 2-32, 3-38, 4-53, 5-79, 6-195, 7-267.

DID NOT BAT: Sohail Khan, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Irfan.

BOWLING: Jamieson 9-0-49-2 (1w); Nuttal 6-0-29-1 (6w); van Beek 9-0-57-1 (5w); Ehsan Adil 10-0-46-1 (1w); Johnston 10-0-40-1 (1w); Astle 5-0-33-0; Carter 1-0-9-0.

NEW ZEALAND BOARD PRESIDENT’S XI:

H.M. Nicholls c Sohaib b Bilawal 1 M.A. Pollard c Hafeez b Irfan 153 T.L. Seifert c Sarfraz b Irfan 7 L.J. Carter c Sarfraz b Sohail Khan 7 K.J. McClure st Sarfraz b Yasir 2 S. Hicks c Younis b Bilawal 29 T.D. Astle c Umar b Bilawal 29 L.V. van Beek b Irfan 13 T.G. Johnston b Sohail Khan 11 K.A. Jamieson not out 8 E.J. Nuttal not out 1

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-1, W-5, NB-1) 8

TOTAL (for nine wkts, 49.5 overs) 269

FALL OF WKTS: 1-1, 2-12, 3-55, 4-59, 5-144, 6-205, 7-244, 8-259, 9-261.

DID NOT BAT: Ehsan Adil, T.A. Blundell.

BOWLING: Mohammad Irfan 10-0-39-3 (1w); Bilawal Bhatti 10-2-42-3 (2w); Sohail Khan 9.5-0-81-2 (1nb, 1w); Yasir Shah 9-1-42-1; Mohammad Hafeez 7-0-36-0 (1w); Haris Sohail 4-0-27-0.

RESULT: New Zealand Board President’s XI won by one wicket.

UMPIRES: G.A.V. Baxter and P.D. Jones.

NOTE: Pakistan’s Ehsan Adil played for New Zealand Board President’s XI who used 13 players (11 batting, 11 fielding).

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2015

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