O’Rourke, Mitchell lead New Zealand to Tri-Nations victory

New Zealand continued their dominant form in the Tri-Nations Series, thrashing Pakistan by five wickets in the final in Karachi on Friday evening.

Having navigated the group stage unbeaten, the Black Caps still entered the final as slight underdogs at most cricket betting sites.

However, a brilliant performance by Will O’Rourke with the ball (4/43) followed by a team effort with the bat have extended their winning run ahead of the Champions Trophy later this month.

After winning the toss, Pakistan elected to bat first and found themselves in a spot of bother early on.

Fakhar Zaman (10) and Saud Shakeel (8) fell inside the first 10 overs, with Babar Azam (29) joining them soon after.

The hosts were reduced to 54/3, but for the second match in a row, were bailed out by a strong partnership between Mohammad Rizwan (46) and Salman Agha (45).

While against South Africa, the duo were able to put on 260 runs together; this time O’Rourke spoiled the stand after 88 runs at the end of the 32nd over.

This sparked a downward spiral for Pakistan with their final seven wickets falling for 100 runs as they slumped to 242 all-out.

In response, New Zealand lost opener Will Young (5) early but then put together a series of impressive partnerships.

First, Devon Conway (48) and Kane Williamson (34) put on 71 runs for the second wicket.

This was then followed by stands of 32 runs for the third between Conway and Daryl Mitchell (57), 87 runs for the fourth (Mitchell and Tom Latham (56) and 37 runs for the fifth (Latham and Glenn Phillips (20*)).

The latter carried his bat alongside Michael Bracewell (2*) to get New Zealand over the line with five wickets and 28 balls to spare.

“It is nice to win tonight,” Kiwi captain Mitchell Santner said after the match.

“Different guys stepping up at different times is good.

“It means nothing till we play that first game at the Champions Trophy.

“It was a bit slower than what we thought it would be.

“We just wanted to put in a good spot and build pressure.

“If we take wickets up front, it makes the job easier in the middle.”

The result has led cricket bookmakers to shorten the Black Caps odds heading into the Champions Trophy later this month.

Prior to the Tri-Nations Series, New Zealand paid $9 to win the Champions Trophy.

Now, Marantelli Bet has them at $8 to prevail, the fourth line of betting behind India ($2.62), Australia ($5.50) and England ($7).

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