BENGALURU, India, November 4, 2023: New Zealand had scored 401.
Pakistan had lost Abdullah Shafique at 6/1.
The equation should have been ridiculous.
Instead, by the time rain returned over Bengaluru, New Zealand were the team looking relieved that no more cricket could be played.
Fakhar Zaman was unbeaten on 126 from only 81 balls.
Babar Azam had 66 from 63.
Pakistan were 200/1 after 25.3 overs.
They were not merely surviving a chase of 402. They were 21 runs ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern requirement and scoring quickly enough for the full chase to remain mathematically plausible had the weather allowed the match to continue.
Rain ended the contest.
Pakistan won by 21 runs under the DLS method.
The strange beauty of the match is contained in that sequence.
New Zealand produced one of the greatest batting totals in World Cup history and still left Bengaluru with nothing.
Rachin Ravindra made 108.
Kane Williamson returned from a fractured thumb and scored 95.
Every New Zealand batter who reached the crease contributed to 401/6.
Then Fakhar attacked the target with such force that 402 stopped looking absurd.
That is why Pakistan vs New Zealand is Match 45 in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs.
The original series roadmap selected the match because Fakhar transformed what should have been an impossible chase into a genuine possibility.
The rain determined when the match ended.
Fakhar determined who was ahead when it did.
TL;DR
- Pakistan won the toss and chose to field.
- New Zealand scored 401/6 in 50 overs.
- Rachin Ravindra made 108 from 94 balls.
- Kane Williamson returned from a fractured thumb and scored 95 from 79.
- Ravindra and Williamson added 180 for the second wicket.
- Glenn Phillips made 41 from 25.
- Mitchell Santner finished unbeaten on 26 from 17.
- Mohammad Wasim Jr took 3/60.
- Shaheen Shah Afridi conceded 90 runs without a wicket.
- Haris Rauf conceded 85 and took one wicket.
- Pakistan lost Abdullah Shafique at 6/1.
- Fakhar Zaman then smashed 126 not out from 81 balls.
- Fakhar reached his century in 63 balls.
- Babar Azam made 66 not out from 63.
- Fakhar and Babar added an unbeaten 194.
- Pakistan reached 200/1 in 25.3 overs.
- After the first rain interruption, Pakistan’s revised target became 342 from 41 overs.
- The second spell of rain ended the match.
- Pakistan were 21 runs ahead of the DLS par score.
- Pakistan won by 21 runs under the DLS method.
- Fakhar Zaman was named Player of the Match.
- Pakistan moved level with New Zealand on eight points and kept their semifinal hopes alive. icc
Pakistan vs New Zealand 2023 World Cup: Match at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Competition | ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 |
| Match | 35th Match |
| Date | November 4, 2023 |
| Venue | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru |
| Toss | Pakistan won and fielded |
| New Zealand | 401/6 in 50 overs |
| Pakistan | 200/1 in 25.3 overs |
| Result | Pakistan won by 21 runs, DLS method |
| Original target | 402 |
| Revised target after first interruption | 342 from 41 overs |
| Player of the Match | Fakhar Zaman |
| New Zealand top scorer | Rachin Ravindra, 108 |
| Pakistan top scorer | Fakhar Zaman, 126* |
| Best Pakistan bowling | Mohammad Wasim Jr, 3/60 |
| Key New Zealand partnership | Ravindra and Williamson, 180 |
| Key Pakistan partnership | Fakhar and Babar, 194* |
| Tournament consequence | Pakistan remained alive in semifinal race |
The ICC’s official match report records Pakistan’s 21-run DLS victory and the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the chase.
Why Match 45 Belongs in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs
There are matches in this series where a team wins because it defends a tiny total.
Others are remembered because one wicket or one boundary changes everything.
This one is different.
The defining question was whether 402 could stop feeling impossible.
For most of ODI history, a target beyond 400 has carried an assumption of defeat.
New Zealand had done almost everything required to create that assumption.
They had reached 401/6.
Their top six had all contributed.
Pakistan’s attack had been punished for 50 overs.
Then Abdullah Shafique fell in the second over.
Pakistan were 6/1.
The sensible approach would have been damage limitation.
Fakhar chose something else.
By the time Pakistan reached 200/1, they were scoring at 7.84 runs per over despite losing only one wicket.
The chase had not been completed.
Nobody can know whether Pakistan would actually have reached 402.
What makes the match worthy of this series is that the question had become serious.
ICC noted that Pakistan were potentially on course for what would have been the second-highest successful ODI chase at the time when the rain ended proceedings. icc
Rachin Ravindra Produces His Third World Cup Century
Before Fakhar took control of the story, Ravindra had produced another outstanding innings in what was becoming one of the great breakout World Cup campaigns.
He scored:
108 runs
94 balls
15 fours
1 six
Strike rate: 114.89
Ravindra’s method was less frantic than the final score might suggest.
He accumulated quickly without needing constant risk.
Pakistan struggled to contain him through both pace and spin.
His century was his third in only eight innings at the tournament.
That mattered because New Zealand had entered the match after three consecutive defeats.
They needed a batting response.
Ravindra provided one.
Kane Williamson Returns From Injury and Immediately Looks in Control
Williamson’s 95 carries added significance because of what came before it.
The New Zealand captain had suffered a fractured left thumb against Bangladesh after being struck by an errant throw.
That injury had forced him out of subsequent matches.
His World Cup had already been disrupted earlier by recovery from ACL surgery.
Against Pakistan, he finally returned again.
There was little sign of rust.
Williamson made:
95 runs
79 balls
10 fours
2 sixes
Strike rate: 120.25
He and Ravindra added 180 for the second wicket.
The partnership took New Zealand from 68/1 to 248/2.
Williamson eventually fell five short of a century, caught by Fakhar on the boundary off Iftikhar Ahmed.
His return still transformed New Zealand’s batting order.
The irony was severe.
Williamson came back from injury and almost helped New Zealand produce an unbeatable total.
Pakistan then chased it with a violence few teams could have anticipated.
The ICC confirmed Williamson’s return came after he had overcome the fractured thumb that had kept him sidelined. icc
Ravindra and Williamson Turn Pakistan’s Decision to Bowl Into a Nightmare
Babar Azam chose to field.
At Chinnaswamy, where boundaries are small and scoring can accelerate rapidly, chasing had logic.
For much of New Zealand’s innings, the decision looked disastrous.
Devon Conway helped New Zealand reach 68 before Hasan Ali removed him for 35.
That wicket did not provide control.
Ravindra and Williamson simply expanded the innings.
At 150, New Zealand had lost only one wicket.
At 248, they had two down.
They passed 300 with more than 10 overs remaining.
Pakistan had nowhere to hide.
New Zealand’s Middle Order Refuses to Waste the Platform
One of the strongest features of New Zealand’s 401 was that Ravindra and Williamson did not have to carry the entire innings.
Daryl Mitchell made 29 from 18.
Mark Chapman scored 39 from 27.
Glenn Phillips made 41 from 25.
Mitchell Santner added an unbeaten 26 from 17.
The scoring continued after the established pair departed.
That is how a very good total became 401.
Pakistan took wickets late.
The runs never stopped.
Mohammad Wasim Jr Gives Pakistan the Only Real Bowling Control
Pakistan’s bowling figures were brutal.
Wasim Jr was the exception.
He took:
3 wickets for 60 runs from 10 overs
He dismissed Ravindra.
Then Chapman.
Then Phillips.
All three wickets came against batters capable of pushing New Zealand well beyond 420.
His spell was therefore more valuable than the economy rate alone suggests.
Pakistan still conceded 401.
Without Wasim’s late wickets, the total could have been considerably worse.
Shaheen Afridi Endures a Rare Wicketless Punishment
Shaheen Shah Afridi finished with:
10 overs
90 runs
0 wickets
Economy: 9.00
New Zealand attacked his full length.
When he shortened, the boundary remained available.
The final over alone produced another 12 runs.
For Pakistan, that mattered because Shaheen was normally the bowler expected to break partnerships.
He could not.
New Zealand’s batters reached the middle overs with wickets intact and then attacked the death overs without fear.
Haris Rauf Cannot Stop New Zealand’s Acceleration
Rauf also endured a difficult afternoon.
10 overs
85 runs
1 wicket
He dismissed Daryl Mitchell for 29.
The wicket did little to slow the innings.
Chapman and Phillips maintained the rate.
New Zealand’s attack exposed a wider problem in Pakistan’s World Cup bowling.
There was pace.
There was wicket-taking potential.
There was too little control when the surface offered little help.
Complete Match Scorecard
New Zealand Batting: 401/6 in 50 Overs
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devon Conway | c Mohammad Rizwan b Hasan Ali | 35 | 39 | 6 | 0 | 89.74 |
| Rachin Ravindra | c Saud Shakeel b Mohammad Wasim Jr | 108 | 94 | 15 | 1 | 114.89 |
| Kane Williamson (c) | c Fakhar Zaman b Iftikhar Ahmed | 95 | 79 | 10 | 2 | 120.25 |
| Daryl Mitchell | b Haris Rauf | 29 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 161.11 |
| Mark Chapman | b Mohammad Wasim Jr | 39 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 144.44 |
| Glenn Phillips | b Mohammad Wasim Jr | 41 | 25 | 4 | 2 | 164.00 |
| Mitchell Santner | not out | 26 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 152.94 |
| Tom Latham (wk) | not out | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
Did not bat: Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult
Extras: 26
Total: 401/6 in 50 overs
Run rate: 8.02
Fall of wickets: 68/1 Conway (10.5), 248/2 Williamson (34.2), 261/3 Ravindra (35.5), 318/4 Mitchell (41.1), 345/5 Chapman (44.3), 388/6 Phillips (48.5).
Pakistan Bowling
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | 10 | 0 | 90 | 0 | 9.00 |
| Hasan Ali | 10 | 0 | 82 | 1 | 8.20 |
| Iftikhar Ahmed | 8 | 0 | 55 | 1 | 6.88 |
| Haris Rauf | 10 | 0 | 85 | 1 | 8.50 |
| Mohammad Wasim Jr | 10 | 0 | 60 | 3 | 6.00 |
| Salman Ali Agha | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 10.50 |
Pakistan Lose Abdullah Shafique and the Chase Looks Over
A target of 402 demands an almost perfect start.
Pakistan got the opposite.
Tim Southee removed Abdullah Shafique for four at the end of the second over.
Pakistan:
6/1.
New Zealand had 401 behind them.
Trent Boult was moving the new ball.
Southee had already broken through.
Every conventional reading of the scoreboard favored New Zealand.
Fakhar changed the reading.
Player of the Match Fakhar Zaman Attacks Before New Zealand Can Control Him
Fakhar finished on:
126 not out
81 balls
8 fours
11 sixes
Strike rate: 155.56
The 11 sixes tell only part of the story.
The timing mattered more.
Fakhar understood two realities.
Pakistan could not chase 402 by batting conservatively for 30 overs and hoping to accelerate later.
And rain was threatening.
That second factor became tactically important.
ICC later reported Fakhar saying Pakistan’s batters were receiving information about the DLS position every couple of overs.
They knew they needed to stay ahead.
The attack was therefore not blind hitting.
It was a chase built around both the original target and the weather-adjusted one. icc
Fakhar Turns 50 Into 100 in Only 14 Balls
This was the acceleration that changed the match.
Fakhar reached his half-century during the 14th over.
Then he exploded.
It took only 14 more deliveries to reach 100.
His century came from 63 balls.
The scoring map changed completely.
New Zealand could no longer protect one side of the ground.
Spin disappeared into the stands.
Pace travelled over the ropes.
Anything in Fakhar’s arc became dangerous.
Pakistan were suddenly forcing New Zealand to defend a total of 401.
Babar Azam Understands He Does Not Need to Match Fakhar Shot for Shot
Babar’s contribution deserves more attention than the strike rate alone receives.
He finished:
66 not out
63 balls
6 fours
2 sixes
Strike rate: 104.76
In a chase requiring almost eight runs per over, a run-a-ball innings might normally create pressure.
Fakhar’s assault changed the equation.
Babar did not need to compete with him.
He needed to stay.
Rotate strike.
Punish the bad ball.
Prevent New Zealand from reaching Pakistan’s middle order.
Their roles complemented each other.
Fakhar created chaos.
Babar preserved structure.
The partnership reached 194 unbeaten runs from 141 deliveries.
Pakistan’s DLS Awareness Becomes a Tactical Weapon
The rain is often described as though it simply rescued Pakistan.
That misses the most interesting part of the match.
Pakistan knew the weather was coming.
They were actively tracking the DLS requirement.
Fakhar later said the dressing room was communicating where Pakistan needed to be.
That influenced the batting strategy.
When rain first arrived during the 22nd over, Pakistan had already positioned themselves favorably.
After a lengthy interruption, the match was reduced to 41 overs, with Pakistan’s target revised to 342.
That still required aggressive batting.
Fakhar and Babar accelerated again.
When rain returned permanently, Pakistan were 200/1 after 25.3 overs.
Their DLS par score was 179.
They were 21 ahead.
Rain ended the match.
Pakistan’s preparation for the rain had helped win it.
New Zealand’s Bowlers Discover That 401 Is Not Enough Protection
New Zealand had defended huge totals before.
This situation was different.
Southee took the only wicket and finished with 1/27 from five overs.
Boult conceded 50 from six.
Santner went for 35 from five.
Glenn Phillips conceded 42 from five.
Ish Sodhi’s four overs cost 44.
Once Fakhar accelerated, there was no bowler Williamson could turn to for sustained control.
The contrast with New Zealand’s batting innings was striking.
Pakistan had at least found Wasim’s three wickets.
New Zealand could not find Fakhar.
Tim Southee Gives New Zealand the Start They Need
Southee’s contribution should not disappear beneath Fakhar’s innings.
He dismissed Shafique early.
He then bowled five overs for only 27.
His spell offered New Zealand the one thing they needed after scoring 401: an early wicket and some control.
The problem was what happened at the other end.
Fakhar attacked almost everything else.
Southee’s opening breakthrough became increasingly isolated.
Complete Pakistan Scorecard
Pakistan Batting: 200/1 in 25.3 Overs
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abdullah Shafique | c Kane Williamson b Tim Southee | 4 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 44.44 |
| Fakhar Zaman | not out | 126 | 81 | 8 | 11 | 155.56 |
| Babar Azam (c) | not out | 66 | 63 | 6 | 2 | 104.76 |
Did not bat: Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf
Extras: 4
Total: 200/1 in 25.3 overs
Run rate: 7.84
Fall of wickets: 6/1 Abdullah Shafique (1.6).
New Zealand Bowling
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent Boult | 6 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 8.33 |
| Tim Southee | 5 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 5.40 |
| Mitchell Santner | 5 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 7.00 |
| Glenn Phillips | 5 | 1 | 42 | 0 | 8.40 |
| Ish Sodhi | 4 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 11.00 |
| Daryl Mitchell | 0.3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Result: Pakistan won by 21 runs under the DLS method.
Player of the Match: Fakhar Zaman.
Seven Turning Points That Defined Pakistan vs New Zealand
1. New Zealand Reach 68 Before Losing Conway
Pakistan needed early wickets after choosing to field.
Instead, New Zealand established the foundation for 400.
2. Williamson Returns and Adds 180 With Ravindra
The captain’s return from injury gave New Zealand stability and allowed Ravindra to continue attacking.
3. New Zealand Reach 401 Despite Late Wickets
Pakistan took several wickets during the final 15 overs.
New Zealand’s middle and lower order continued scoring rapidly enough to reach 401.
4. Southee Removes Shafique at 6/1
The chase appeared to be collapsing before it had started.
5. Fakhar Goes From 50 to 100 in 14 Balls
This was the moment 402 stopped looking like a ceremonial target.
6. Pakistan Stay Ahead of DLS Before the First Interruption
The awareness of the rain equation meant Pakistan were batting against two targets at once.
7. Fakhar and Babar Push Pakistan to 200/1 Before Rain Returns
Pakistan were 21 runs above the par score when the weather finally ended the contest.
Why Pakistan Deserved the DLS Victory Rather Than Simply “Getting Lucky With Rain”
Weather always leaves an element of uncertainty.
New Zealand can reasonably wonder what might have happened if 50 overs had been possible.
Pakistan can equally wonder whether Fakhar might have completed one of the greatest chases in ODI history.
Neither hypothetical decides the result.
DLS exists precisely because unfinished limited-overs matches need a method for measuring the game state.
At 200/1 after 25.3 overs, Pakistan were 21 runs ahead of that calculation.
They had achieved that position through scoring rate and wicket preservation.
Rain stopped New Zealand from trying to recover.
It also stopped Pakistan from trying to complete 402.
The accurate interpretation is therefore straightforward.
The weather ended the match.
Pakistan’s batting put them in the winning position when it ended.
New Zealand’s 401 Reveals How Strong Their Batting Was and How Vulnerable Their Tournament Had Become
The defeat was New Zealand’s fourth in succession.
That is remarkable considering what they had just scored.
Their batting looked capable of reaching another World Cup semifinal.
Ravindra was having an exceptional tournament.
Williamson had returned.
Mitchell, Chapman and Phillips gave the middle order aggression.
Yet the bowling attack was being stretched.
The five-run defeat against Australia in Match 41 had already exposed how difficult it could be for New Zealand to contain huge chases.
Pakistan pushed that problem further.
New Zealand had defended 401 and still never looked fully safe once Fakhar began attacking.
Pakistan’s World Cup Campaign Had Already Been Reduced to Survival
The result mattered because Pakistan entered Bengaluru with almost no margin left.
They had lost four consecutive matches.
The most painful came against South Africa in Match 40, where Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi survived with one wicket remaining.
That loss left Pakistan dependent on both their own results and other teams.
They responded by beating Bangladesh.
Then came New Zealand.
A defeat in Bengaluru would have effectively ended the campaign.
Fakhar gave them another week of hope.
Fakhar Zaman’s Return Changed Pakistan’s Attack
Fakhar had not been a fixture throughout the tournament.
When Pakistan restored him to the side, the batting gained a different kind of threat.
His method is inherently higher risk than the approach of Pakistan’s more conservative top-order batters.
That risk was exactly what 402 required.
Pakistan did not need a conventional hundred.
They needed a batter capable of turning good bowling into boundaries and acceptable bowling into sixes.
Fakhar was the one player in the lineup most naturally equipped to try.
His 126* remains one of Pakistan’s most destructive World Cup innings.
Kane Williamson’s 95 Makes New Zealand’s Defeat Even Harder to Process
New Zealand had waited for their captain to return.
He responded with 95.
Ravindra made 108.
The team scored 401.
That usually describes a complete batting performance and a comfortable victory.
Instead, New Zealand lost.
The defeat demonstrates why ODI cricket’s longer format can still create unusual layers of pressure.
A team can dominate for three hours.
One partnership can then erase that emotional advantage.
Williamson’s return was a success.
The result was not.
Fakhar and Babar Produced Exactly Opposite Innings and That Is Why the Partnership Worked
The numbers reveal an important tactical contrast.
Fakhar strike rate: 155.56
Babar strike rate: 104.76
A partnership built from two Fakhar-style innings might have produced more boundaries but also more risk.
A partnership built from two Babar-style innings would likely have fallen behind the required rate.
Together, the styles balanced.
Babar gave Fakhar freedom.
Fakhar prevented Babar’s tempo from becoming a problem.
That is why the partnership grew to 194 without breaking.
How Match 45 Connects to Pakistan’s World Cup History
Pakistan’s World Cup story has often involved surviving after logic suggested elimination was near.
In 1992, Inzamam-ul-Haq transformed the semifinal against New Zealand with 60 from 37 balls, one of the matches highlighted in the main A Celebration of 5000 ODIs collection.
In 2015, Sarfaraz Ahmed helped Pakistan survive AB de Villiers and South Africa in Match 30.
In 2019, Imad Wasim pulled Pakistan out of 156/6 against Afghanistan in Match 33.
Bengaluru belongs to that tradition.
The difference is scale.
Pakistan were chasing 402.
New Zealand’s World Cup Identity Was Built on Surviving Difficult Matches Too
New Zealand have their own history of creating improbable tournament results.
They overturned South Africa’s comfortable chase in the 2011 quarterfinal, revisited in Match 27.
Four years later, Grant Elliott took them into their first World Cup final in Match 29.
By 2023, they had become one of the tournament’s most reliable knockout teams.
That made the four-match losing sequence so unusual.
Pakistan’s win did not eliminate them.
It made their final league match against Sri Lanka even more important.
The Result Reopened the Semifinal Race
The immediate consequence was substantial.
Pakistan moved to eight points, level with New Zealand.
The Black Caps had now lost four successive games after beginning the tournament with four victories.
Pakistan, meanwhile, had recovered from four straight defeats to win twice in succession.
Their final league match against England now mattered.
New Zealand still had Sri Lanka to play.
Afghanistan remained involved in the same qualification battle.
The 21-run DLS result did not merely keep Pakistan alive.
It complicated the entire race for the fourth semifinal position.
ICC described the victory as putting Pakistan “right back into the qualification mix.” icc
Pakistan Were Later Fined for Their Slow Over Rate
The match produced one less celebrated consequence.
Pakistan were found two overs short of the required over rate during New Zealand’s innings.
The ICC fined the players 10 percent of their match fees.
Babar accepted the sanction.
It had no effect on the World Cup points table, but it added another detail to a match in which Pakistan’s bowling innings had already been difficult enough. The ICC confirmed the sanction after the victory.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Pakistan vs New Zealand at the 2023 World Cup?
Pakistan won by 21 runs under the DLS method after reaching 200/1 in 25.3 overs in pursuit of New Zealand’s 401/6.
Who was Player of the Match?
Fakhar Zaman was Player of the Match after scoring 126 not out from 81 balls.
How many sixes did Fakhar Zaman hit?
Fakhar hit 11 sixes and eight fours.
How quickly did Fakhar reach his century?
He reached 100 from 63 balls, having gone from 50 to 100 in only 14 deliveries.
What was Pakistan’s original target?
Pakistan needed 402 from 50 overs.
What was the revised target after rain?
After the first interruption, the match was reduced to 41 overs and Pakistan’s revised target became 342.
Why did Pakistan win by 21 runs under DLS?
When the second rain interruption ended the match, Pakistan were 200/1 after 25.3 overs. The DLS par score was 179, leaving Pakistan 21 runs ahead.
Who scored New Zealand’s century?
Rachin Ravindra made 108 from 94 deliveries.
How many did Kane Williamson score on his return?
Williamson made 95 from 79 balls after returning from a fractured thumb.
Why is Pakistan vs New Zealand included in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs?
New Zealand scored 401/6, a total that should have made the result almost inevitable. Fakhar Zaman’s unbeaten 126 and his 194-run partnership with Babar Azam took Pakistan to 200/1 and turned a supposedly impossible chase into a legitimate possibility before rain ended the match.