On Wednesday, April 2, during the second ODI of the series between Pakistan and New Zealand in Hamilton, Sufiyan Muqeem made history by scoring the most runs of any No. 12 batter in an international match. Despite his team losing by 84 runs, he finished undefeated on 13 off 10 deliveries.
During the 25th over of the run-chase, Haris Rauf famously retired out after taking a hard hit to the helmet with a steep Will O’Rourke delivery. Naseem Shah was added as a concussion substitution after initially not being in the lineup. As a result, Sufiyan Muqeem was officially the 12th batter to enter the game. It’s interesting to note that Naseem nearly broke the record for the highest score by a No. 11 batsman in an ODI.
Sufiyan Muqeem was Pakistan’s most impressive bowler earlier in the match.
The speedster failed to reach Mohammed Amir’s record score of 58 after being removed on 51 off 44 deliveries. In 10 overs, he finished with figures of 2/33. It’s interesting to note it was just his second ODI at the international level. In the end, Pakistan lost the match by a very significant margin.
Speaking of the match, Pakistan was chasing 293 to tie the series when they fell to 72/7 in the 22nd over. In a huge collapse, all five of the tourists’ top hitters had been removed for single-figure scores. Together with Naseem, Faheem Ashraf (73), led a strong recovery. Afterwards, Sufiyan Muqeem and Naseem formed a 34-run partnership for the last wicket. In the end, the Kiwis defeated Pakistan in the third and last game of the series.
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