New-Zealand skipper Tom Latham scored a boundary of a delivery by Salman Ali Agha which bounced twice. Pakistan and New Zealand locked horns in a warm-up fixture for the ODI World Cup 2023 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bat first. They scored 345 runs in their 50 overs.
During the second innings, a bizarre on-field moment. We witnessed as Tom Latham smacked Agha Salman for a four off a double bouncing delivery. The incident took place on the second ball of the 24th over as Salman bowled a real short delivery which bounced twice before reaching Lathem. The Kiwi batter made full use of the freebie and played it towards fine leg for a boundary. The bizarre delivery left everyone present on the ground in splits.
Earlier in the innings, Rachin Ravindra played a breathtaking innings of 97 off 72 bals. Courtesy of his innings, New Zealand pushed Pakistan on the backfoot straight away. Kane Williamson, who returned to the pitch after a long hiatus due to an injury lay-off. He also looked in fine touch playing a knock of 54 off 50 before getting retired out.
Tom Latham side managed to win the warm-up game rather comfortably
Chasing the steep total of 345, the kiwis had a shaky start, losing opener Devon Conway cheaply. After that it was all about New Zealand batters. Firstly, R. Ravindra and Tom Latham had partnership followed by Ravindra and Williamson. In the end, Kiwis chased down the target rather easily in 45.1 overs. However, the most encouraging news came in the form of Williamson who looked good in the middle.
Tom Latham led Kiwi side will commence their World Cup campagin against defending champs England. The opening encounter will take place on 5th October in Ahmedabad.
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