Mark Chapman put on a show with his second ODI century as New Zealand National Cricket Team cruised to a 73-run win over Pakistan National Cricket Team in the 1st ODI at McLean Park, Napier.

who-said-what-pak-vs-nz-1st-odi-2025

Pakistan collapsed dramatically losing seven wickets for just 22 runs after being in a comfortable position at 249/3 chasing New Zealand's huge 346-run target.

New Zealand’s star of the day Mark Chapman, delivered a stunning 132 off 111 balls, hitting 13 fours and six sixes. He teamed up with Daryl Mitchell who added 76 runs to rescue New Zealand from a tough spot. The Kiwis were struggling at 50/3 when the duo built a vital 199-run partnership, helping New Zealand post 344/9

In their chase Pakistan looked well in control at 249/3 with Babar Azam anchoring the innings. But New Zealand’s bowlers turned the game around. Nathan Smith though expensive took four wickets and played a key role in Pakistan's sudden collapse, as the team was bundled out for 271.

Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan admitted that pressure in the final overs took a toll on his team. "We started with good intent with the bat. But at the end, pressure got built. When you're closer to the target, there's more pressure. 3-4 overs changed the momentum. Pitch was difficult to bat earlier in the morning. Chapman played really well. We need to improve more. Have to take the benefit of the toss. We have some new guys in the middle order. It's a good challenge to play in these conditions"

Mark Chapman was delighted with his performance, especially the partnership with Mitchell that turned the game around.

"Was tricky early on (conditions), we probably aimed at something lower then this, but we then kicked on and got to a good total. It was really important (on the partnership with Daryl Mitchell), we just absorbed the pressure and then got into a position to put the pressure back on them. We rode our luck, got a platform and set things up for debutant Abbas to put the icing on the cake, it was a solid innings from him" He added. 

"The new ball swung around, the conditions later got better and helped us later in the innings while batting). A little bit of a hamstring tweak (on his injury), it's not always great news, but hopefully some rest and I should be back for the next game" Champman Said.

New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell was thrilled with the team’s performance especially after a challenging start. 

 "It was a great game of ODI cricket. Lots of ebbs and flows. Having to absord pressure and apply it later on. You can apply some of those T20 skills that the young players are learning quickly. ODI cricket is alive I guess. That's how I drew it up (the move to bowl out his strike bowlers earlier in search of wickets). You just try and use your resources as best you can. Fortunately it paid off today. If they went wicketless, we probably were looking for a few overs somewhere. That's the game of cricket. You roll the dice a little bit and lucky for me it came off today. It's a great sign for domestic cricket in New Zealand that guys are coming in and stepping up straightaway (talking about Abbas)"

"Outstanding to seeThat was on the back of a massive partnership from Chapman and Daryl which was outstanding. To be three down early and then the way those guys showed the fight to get through that tough period, targetted the fifth bowler from Pakistan, it was outstanding. Great way to show that it can't just be your way all the time. And same with the ball. To just stay in the game and keep fighting - that New Zealand spirit is what we're all about" he concluded.