Pakistan received a massive setback ahead of their second ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday, April 02 in Hamilton as batter Usman Khan has been ruled out of the second ODI. The batter, who made his debut in first ODI, suffered an injury while fielding. Later, the scan revealed a low-grade tear.
The 29-year-old was initially not part of Pakistan's ODI squad for the New Zealand series but was was added late to the squad after the conclusion of the T20I series in which Pakistan were hammered 4-1.Usman looked fluent in his brief stay at the crease in his debut match, scoring 39 off 33 balls. The right-hand batter managed to get his team off to a decent start, but his efforts went in vain as the visitors went down by 73 runs in the first ODI.
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Batting first, the Kiwis posted a huge score of 344 on the back of Mark Chapman's brilliant century. In reply, Pakistan were cruising at one stage before Babar Azam's wicket for (78) triggered a massive collapse as the visitors were bundled out for 271 in 44.1 overs.
Pakistan aim to keep series alive in the second ODI against New Zealand
Pakistan have one more shot at keeping the three-match ODI series alive after losing the first game. If Mohammad Rizwan-led side beat the Kiwis in the second game on Wednesday in Hamilton, then they will carry that momentum in the third ODI and aim for an away ODI series win.
Pakistan have looked good in patches throughout the white-ball series against New Zealand, but consistency is what they are lacking.
