Kiwis rout Pak by seven wickets with 63 balls to spare in first ODI

Pakistan's tour of New Zealand, in preparation of the World Cup, started on a losing note, as the visitors lost the first match of the two-match ODI series by seven wickets at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

Put into bat first, Pakistani batsman failed to get any stable partnership going with openers Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad going for a duck and 15 runs respectively.

Only skipper Misbah-ul Haq and swashbuckling all-rounder Shahid Afridi managed to get past the half-century mark, scoring 58 and 67 runs respectively, as the team crumbled around them.

Afridi was swift in his stellar knock of 67, which came of just 29 deliveries including nine fours and three sixes.

Six Pakistani players failed to score in double digits, with opener Hafeez and Bilawal Bhatti going for a duck each.

Pakistan managed to post a 211 run target for New Zealand to win, as the tourists were bowled out in 45.3 overs.

Chasing a paltry target, New Zealand went on to secure the win in just 63 deliveries to spare, thanks to Latham Taylor and Grant Elliott's unbeaten knock of 59 and 64 respectively.

The hosts lost three wickets while chasing down the target, with opener Martin Guptill and skipper Brendon McCullum scoring 39 and 17 runs respectively, while Tom Latham hit 23 before Taylor and Elliott came in to bat.

All-rounder Afridi claimed Taylor's wicket in addition to his stellar 67-run knock.

New Zealand all-rounder Elliott was the player of the match for his unbeaten 64 and three-wicket haul.

New Zealand currently leads the two-match series 1-0.