Kiwis rout Pakistan by eight wickets

Leading by 67 runs after the first innings, New Zealand bowled out Pakistan for 171 in its second innings and reached its victory target of 105 runs less than an hour after lunch. After Tom Lathan was out cheaply (9), captain Kane Williamson scored 61 to lead New Zealand’s chase on Sunday before being caught at short fine leg with only one run needed for victory. Jeet Raval, making his New Zealand debut, followed with a boundary from Yasir Shah in the 32nd over to post the winning runs and finish 36 not out. 

New Zealand’s win in less than two and a half days was only its sixth in a Test match against Pakistan at home. Pakistan haven’t lost a Test series in New Zealand since 1985, winning five and drawing three during that time, but the hosts now have a chance to end that streak with another victory in the second Test beginning on Friday in Hamilton. “In terms of our performance, where we really stepped it up was the second innings with the ball,” Williamson said. “The surface was very good, it didn’t do too much and the boys put it in the right areas for a long period of time.”

New Zealand were coming off four straight losses in its most-recent Test matches — one in South Africa and three in India. “Naturally, it’s tough coming off the back of a few losses, but it’s nice to be back at home,” Williamson said. “The boys kept it up and put some of those feelings of defeat behind us to play a very good test match.” The teams only managed a combined 612 runs in four innings of a match. While Williamson played a decisive role to close out New Zealand’s victory, two debutants Grandhomme and Raval made their mark. Pakistan ended the match without captain Misbah-ulHaq who had to return home because his father-in-law is seriously ill.