Pakistan continue to remain in contention for a spot in the top-four in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, after defeating New Zealand by six wickets on Wednesday in match 33 of the tournament in Birmingham.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to bat. The side posted a total of 237 runs for the loss of six wickets in 50 overs on the back of an unbeaten 112 ball 97 by all-rounder Jimmy Neesham and 71-ball 64 by Colin de Grandhomme.
Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets while conceding 28 runs.
In turn, Pakistan chased down the total in 49.1 overs despite losing openers Imam-Ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman within the first ten overs on a tough batting track. Babar Azam, who scored an unbeaten century combined with Haris Sohail to stitch a partnership of 126 runs, get the side across the line.
Let us take a look at the highest run-scorers and wicket-takers after the New Zealand vs Pakistan match:
Most Runs
Australian opener David Warner continues to remain on top of the run-scoring charts with 500 runs in seven matches of the tournament. Fellow opener Aaron Finch who scored a century against England on Tuesday trails him by four runs with 496 runs in seven matches.
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan who has been in excellent form for the side in the tournament so far finds himself on the third spot with 476 runs in six matches. English batsman Joe Root and New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson round off the top-five list with 432 and 414 runs in seven and six matches respectively.
| Pos | Player | Team | Runs | Matches | Innings | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Warner | AUS | 500 | 7 | 7 | 500 |
| 2 | Aaron Finch | AUS | 496 | 7 | 7 | 496 |
| 3 | Shakib Al Hasan | BAN | 476 | 6 | 6 | 476 |
| 4 | Joe Root | ENG | 432 | 7 | 7 | 432 |
| 5 | Kane Williamson | NZ | 414 | 6 | 6 | 414 |
| 6 | Babar Azam | PAK | 333 | 6 | 6 | 333 |
| 7 | Mushfiqur Rahim | BAN | 327 | 6 | 6 | 327 |
| 8 | Rohit Sharma | IND | 320 | 4 | 4 | 320 |
| 9 | Ben Stokes | ENG | 291 | 7 | 7 | 282 |
| 10 | Steve Smith | AUS | 282 | 7 | 7 | 282 |
Most Wickets:
Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc leads the list of the highest wicket-takers with 19 wickets in seven matches. English pacer Jofra Archer is the second name on the list with 16 wickets in seven matches.
Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir who accounted for the dismissal of Martin Guptill on Wednesday finds himself on the third spot with 16 wickets.
New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson who dismissed Imam-Ul-Haq on Wednesday is placed on the fourth spot. English pacer Mark Wood finds himself on the fifth spot with 13 wickets in six matches.
| Pos | Player | Team | Wickets | Matches | Innings | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitchell Starc | AUS | 19 | 7 | 7 | 347 |
| 2 | Jofra Archer | ENG | 16 | 7 | 7 | 325 |
| 3 | Mohammad Amir | PAK | 16 | 6 | 6 | 286 |
| 4 | Lockie Ferguson | NZ | 15 | 6 | 6 | 245 |
| 5 | Mark Wood | ENG | 13 | 6 | 6 | 262 |
| 6 | Pat Cummins | AUS | 11 | 7 | 7 | 313 |
| 7 | Imran Tahir | SA | 10 | 7 | 6 | 279 |
| 8 | Shakib Al Hasan | BAN | 10 | 6 | 6 | 301 |
| 9 | Mohammad Saifuddin | BAN | 10 | 5 | 5 | 281 |
| 10 | Mustafizur Rahman | BAN | 10 | 6 | 6 | 350 |
A total of 10 teams namely England, India, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, South Africa, West Indies, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are featuring in the 2019 edition of the quadrennial event.
