Kiwis rout Pak to sweep series

WELLINGTON, January 6

Kyle Jamieson took his second five-wicket haul of the match as New Zealand beat Pakistan by an innings and 176 runs in the second Test today to sweep the series 2-0 and top the world rankings for the first time. The young paceman took 6/48 to add to his 5/69 from the first innings as the Black Caps dismissed the tourists for 186 to seal an eighth straight home Test series triumph with victory inside four days at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval.

As much as Player of the Match Jamieson’s fine bowling, the win was built on the magnificent 238 skipper Kane Williamson scored in New Zealand’s only innings, which enabled the hosts to declare on 659/6. “Even though the result on paper was very much in our favour, we know that when you are playing quality opposition, it’s the small margins,” Williamson, who was adjudged Player of the Series, said after the win. — Reuters

Kiwis fly to No. 1 for first time

New Zealand got past Australia to become the world’s No. 1 Test team for the first time ever. New Zealand have been impressive at home after beating India 2-0 early last year. When cricket restarted after the Covid lockdown, they beat West Indies 2-0 and have followed that up with the same scoreline against Pakistan. Australia and India are both in with a chance to go to top based on the result of the Border-Gavaskar series. A 2-1 or 3-1 series win for Australia will take them back to No. 1. A drawn series will keep New Zealand at No. 1, while a 3-1 win for India will take them to the top.

Six wins in a row

New Zealand are on a record run, winning six Tests in a row, their best run ever. Their results in the last 6 Tests:

1. Beat IND by 10 wickets
2. Beat IND by 7 wickets
3. Beat WI by inns & 134 runs
4. Beat WI by inns & 12 runs
5. Beat PAK by 101 runs
6. Beat PAK by inns & 176 runs