Imran Farhat and Yousuf Youhana combined in a 143-run stand of classic elegance and control as Pakistan cruised to a convincing six-wicket win over New Zealand here today to level the one-day cricket series one-all. New Zealand knew their 235-7 was going to be difficult to defend, and Pakistan picked it off with ease, posting 236-4 with three overs to spare.Although Yasir Hameed and Saleem Elahi fell cheaply, and Pakistan were 52-2 after 14 overs, the result never looked in doubt when Youhana joined Farhat at the crease.Farhat, curbing his natural attacking instincts at first, coolly accumulated runs as required through his favoured off-side and with some helpful offerings on the leg stump.He faced 104 balls for his 87, which included eight fours and a six, and was out with the score at 195 and the result not in doubt.Between them, Farhat and Youhana put on 143 runs in 25 overs after Youhana had also started slowly and waited 14 balls before getting off the mark by hitting Chris Cairns over the bowler’s head for the first of his 10 boundaries.“The bowlers contained the New Zealand batsmen very well . And the team has been doing very well chasing runs,” Pakistan coach Javed Miandad said afterwards. “In this country the first hour always helps the fast bowlers, the same thing in the last game, then later the wicket becomes better.”Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming said the pitch was tricky early on but that wasn’t an excuse for the batting woes. “It certainly set us back, we didn’t get key partnerships going and the scoreboard reflects it,” he said.
