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New Zealand captain Kane Williamson took a wonderful catch to send Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique back to the pavilion during the 2023 World Cup encounter on Saturday (November 4). The two teams are squaring off in the 35th match of the 2023 World Cup at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Pakistan got off to a sedate start in a steep chase of 402. They could score only six runs in 1.5 overs, and the pressure of the asking rate got to Abdullah Shafique, who attempted to up the ante with a big shot over the in-field against Tim Southee on the next ball.
Shafique tried to go over covers but could not get the desired timing on the shot. Kane Williamson, who was fielding in the mid-off region, ran back swiftly and took a sensational diving catch to give his side an early breakthrough.
You can watch Williamson's catch in the video below:
Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra power New Zealand to 401/6 against Pakistan
After being asked to bat first, New Zealand got off to a good start as their openers put on 68 runs in 10.4 overs.
Devon Conway departed on the next delivery after edging to wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan. Kane Williamson (95) and Rachin Ravindra (108) then rallied their innings with wonderful knocks and set a strong platform for their side with a 180-run partnership.
Middle-order batters Daryl Mitchell (29), Mark Chapman (39), and Glenn Phillips (41) also chipped in with cameos to help New Zealand to 401/6.
Rachin Ravindra reflected on the action during mid-innings break and said:
"It's pretty surreal to play in the country of my background. Always special to play in India but more so in Bangalore, in front of my family. The wicket is a good one. We thought it was a slow one to start off but it's good to bat on. Not too much turn there. The way we batted was good.
He added:
"It's more about the way we play and understanding that we have a lot more power at the backend. With the likes of Daz, GP and Santner, we know we can make up. They once again showed we can make it up if we need to. We also saw how Kane batted today. We didn't put a target on it and knew we were going at a good rate. We were lucky enough to post a good total on the board and hopefully, it's enough."
