Black Caps staring at series whitewash after fourth ODI loss

Black Cap Jimmy Neesham is clean bowled by Pakistan’s Haris Rauf during the fourth ODI at Karachi.
Photo: AFP

The Black Caps are on the verge of a series whitewash at the hands of Pakistan after crashing to a 102-run loss in the fourth one-day international in Karachi.

In the most one-sided encounter of the five-match series, New Zealand never looked like hauling in Pakistan’s 334 for six, dismissed in response for 232 in the 44th over.

It leaves the hosts 4-0 up heading into the final match at Karachi on Sunday, having climbed to the top of ICC’s ODI rankings on the back of a comprehensive display.

After winning the toss, New Zealand had few answers for classy Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who anchored the home team’s innings with 107 off 117 balls.

It freed up the latter stages for Pakistan’s middle order to let loose, with Agha Salman the most effective, blasting 58 off 46 balls before he was superbly caught and bowled by Matt Henry.

Seamer Henry was the pick of the Black Caps attack, taking 3-65 while legspinner Ish Sodhi was relatively miserly with 1-53 off his full contingent.

New Zealand’s innings struggled for momentum, with captain Tom Latham (60 off 76) and Mark Chapman (46 off 33) top-scoring, with the target never seriously threatened.

The last six wickets fell for 48 runs, with legspinner Usama Mir recording standout figures of 4-43.

– RNZ