Jesse Ryder roared back to form with an 82-ball hundred and guided New Zealand to a 57-run victory in the sixth and final ODI at the Eden Park, Auckland.
Shahid Afridi won the toss and put the Kiwis into bat. Brendon McCullum (12) departed early in the innings. However, Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder took the fight into the Pakistan camp with a 123-run partnership for the second wicket. Guptill scored 44 runs from 75 balls with three fours and a six.
Jesse Ryder put behind his recent slump of form to register his second ODI hundred. He hit a fabulous 107, also his highest score in the ODIs, from just 93 balls. His innings included seven fours and six sixes. Sohail Tanvir had a nice opening spell of 1/25 off four over but Ryder’s fury spoiled his figures and he ended up giving away 53 runs in his next four overs.
Ross Taylor (5) and James Franklin (8) failed once again to fire with the bat but Scott Styris and Nathan McCullum added 120 runs for the sixth wicket in just 83 balls. McCullum blasted his way to fifty off just 45 balls and ultimately finished on 65 runs off 50 balls with seven fours and a six. Scott Styris remained unbeaten on 58 runs that came from 44 balls with six fours and a six.
For Pakistan, Mohammed Hafeez (2/57) and Abdul Razzaq (2/23) were the pick of the bowlers.
Chasing 312 runs, Pakistan lost Ahmed Shehzad (6) and Mohammed Hafeez (21) early in the innings. Kamran Akmal played well to keep the scorecard ticking while wickets kept on falling at the other end. He scored 89 runs from 84 balls with five fours and three sixes.
However, none of the other batsman could provide the support required while chasing a huge score. Afridi scored a quick 35-ball 44 runs that included four fours and two sixes, but that was not enough for Pakistan and they were finally all out for 254 in the 45th over.
For New Zealand, Hamish Bennett took 4/46 and James Franklin took three important wickets to finish on 3/50. Jesse Ryder was declared the player of the match for his magnificent hundred.