New Zealand vs Pakistan, 1st ODI at Dubai, , Dec 08 2014 - Match Result

That's all from our coverage here. We will be back for the next ODI. Thanks for all the comments and feedback. Ciao ciao.

"Very tough game. After we lost Hafeez as a bowler, it was difficult to get the fifth bowler," Misbah-ul-Haq says. "The way Haris and Shahid went about it, it was really a wonderful performance. We are looking to try different things because this is the last series before WC. We will try more things in coming games. We have to take chances at this stage. Sarfraz could be really helpful down the order, he plays spin and big shots under pressure really well.. we are looking for that role for him in Australia. The partnership was really special. The temperament of Haris for the way he bowled for very good. And that helped him well in batting as well. And Shahid played a tremendous knock according to the situation."

"Yeah, I think on the back of Ross' superb knock we had a reasonable total on the board but we didn't do the job well with the ball," says Kane Williamson. "We picked up the wickets early but couldn't finish the job. There are some positives, lot of things to learn by playing in this part of the world. Pakistan played extremely well and deserved to win. Vettori's was an outstanding catch and an important one too. We certainly want to win every game we play, we want to put out this team as much as possible."

"I tried my best. Thanks to Shahid bhai, it didn't feel like I was playing in international cricket during that stand," Haris Sohail, who is the Man of the Match, says. "He supported me really well. Vicky bhai and Mushy bhai gave me confidence.. they told me that I would bowl. I wanted to play a long innings like this and it worked out well."

A wonderful contest. New Zealand had the upper hand once they dismissed the first six Pakistan batsmen for only 124. But then that partnership between Haris Sohail and Shahid Afridi - uncharacteristic in its flair but utter important.. It slowly ground New Zealand out. That after New Zealand's innings had followed the same pattern with Ross Taylor leading them to 246. Sohail, in fact, played the mirror role perfectly to bring up his maiden half-century... and what an important one that was! Add to that his 10 overs of economical bowling. Pakistan would also have been pleasantly surprised by the restraint Afridi showed during the chase, scoring 61 important runs.

lefty: "poor captaincy by Williamson. Fine leg and third man needed to be much finer for at least the last 5 overs. Needed a short cover and short mid wicket for the same period. And once it got down to a run a ball had to have the most of the fielders stopping one. Elementary stuff really"

Saad: "Happy to see team didn't rely on the bigs Younis and Misbah to bail them out. They took responsibility."

Umar Gul has his helmet on but i don't think it's needed now

Neesham to Wahab Riaz now.

Easy from here. Three runs are all they need. Neesham in conference with Williamson.

Wolverine: "Black Caps need a Maxwell "

Fine leg comes in

Mills comes in

Xaideez: "@Kashid Siddiqui : Indeed it was restored:)"

Wahab Riaz comes in. 13 off 13 needed

Afridi, though, is a bit disappointed for not closing out this game

Awais Sohrab: "STAT : 2nd time in Afridi's 50 plus runs innings that he completed 50 runs without hitting a 6. Last time, 53 vs WI in 1997. "

Kashif Siddiqui: "Boom Boom services have been restored! We apologize for any inconvenience that it may have caused. Thank you for your patience!"

I have got a feeling that there are not calm shots left in Afridi's bag anymore

Allen: "For me Sohail should be the MOM. The maturity shown in this innings with his wonderfully economical 10 overs consisting of 30 dots and conceding only a single boundary. He has shown the rest of the team how to play.. Everything said, I want New Zealand to win... :-P :-D"

Mark: "Neesham is a mixed bag. He bowls too many wides and no-balls to be a good death bowler but he does have a knack of sometimes picking up lucky wickets. Hope he can do so here."