NAPIER (APP) – New Zealand flayed Pakistan s attack Tuesday to make a record 369 for five, with Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor helping themselves to centuries in a Black Cap run-fest.
Taylor, playing his 150th one-day international, finished 102 not out with a boundary off the last ball, while Williamson top-scored with 112.
Opener Martin Guptill also contributed 76 to help set Pakistan a mammoth target in the second and final match of the series.
It was New Zealand s highest ODI score against Pakistan, beating the 311 made in Auckland in 2011.
The total was the Black Caps fifth highest in one-day history, surpassed only by scores against second-tier nations Zimbabwe and Canada.
Pakistan s batsmen will need to fire to avoid a series loss after the tourists slumped to a seven-wicket defeat in the first match last Saturday.
More importantly, the huge total will raise serious concerns about Pakistan s attack with the World Cup set to begin on February 14.
Mohammad Irfan was the only bowler to look remotely threatening, finishing with two for 52.
Bilawal Bhatti was carted all over the park, conceding 93 runs without taking a wicket in his 10 overs, while Ehsan Adil fared little better, taking one wicket but going for 8.5 an over.
New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum started with typical aggression as he plundered four boundaries from Bhatti s first two overs, including a six over the bowler s head.
He should have been stumped two overs later charging down the wicket to a Shahid Afridi delivery, but keeper Sarfaz Ahmed was daydreaming and missed the chance.
Afridi was furious but got his man in his next over, coaxing an inside edge as McCullum (31) tried to slog him to the boundary.
Guptill and Williamson brought up New Zealand s 100 off 18.2 overs, with Guptill going on to bring up his 50 off 65 balls. Williamson s half century followed a short time later, with New Zealand on 152 at the half-way mark.
Pakistan s front-line attack was struggling to make an impression, prompting captain Misbah-ul-Haq to bring on his part-timers. Younis Khan and Haris Sohail proved expensive, but the strategy finally paid off when Ahmed Shehzad had Guptill caught for 76 off a full toss to break the 124-run partnership.
Williamson then stepped on the gas, moving from 63 to 100 in the space of eight overs for his sixth one-day century. The 24-year old reached the landmark off 80 balls, scoring 13 boundaries without offering a chance.
He finally fell for 112 taking on Irfan, smashing a six off the paceman then hitting the ball straight to fine leg.
Veteran Ross Taylor, playing his 150th one-day international, smashed Bhatti for six onto the roof of the stand at mid-wicket.
He appeared in danger of remaining stranded in the 90s in the final over, but two boundaries in the final two balls took him to 102. The century, which came off just 70 balls, was the 12th in Taylor s ODI career.
