Here’s how Sun had stopped play during a Pakistan-New Zealand ODI
New Zealand made a short tour of Pakistan in 1996 where they faced the hosts in a 2-match Test series that was followed by a 3-match ODI series. The Blackcaps did struggle in the warm-up game against the PCB XI but stunned the home side with their performance in the first Test. New Zealand conceded a 36-run first-innings lead but bounced back with a 44-run win at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
The second Test hosted by Rawalpindi saw Pakistan cruise to an innings victory as the debutant Mohammad Zahid bagged ten wickets in the match including seven scalps in the second essay. After a day of rest, the two sides turned up in Gujranwala at the Jinnah Stadium in the ODI series opener. But the start of the match was interestingly delayed due to the sunlight.
The curious incident
The sunrise was taking place at one of the bowling ends causing the sunlight coming into the eyes of the batters. The placement of the pitch in the east-west axis could have been a reason for that. This sort of issue has been seen at many venues but it is rare when it comes to international cricket. The game got reduced to 46 overs-a-side before Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first.
The hosts were five down for 71 runs on the board in the 23rd over before Wasim Akram scored 52 from only 47 balls. He put on 91 runs for the 6th wicket with Saleem Malik in a little over an hour. Saleem stood tall till the end scoring an unbeaten 78-ball 73 to take Pakistan to 228/8 in the restricted 46 overs.
Later, Bryan Young’s 58 at the top gave the platform for the Kiwis during the chase before Stephen Fleming (36) and Chris Cairns (36) added 60 runs for the 4th wicket. New Zealand seemed to be on track to chase down the target of 229 as they were 177/3 at the end of 40th over. Waqar Younis initiated a collapse by dismissing Cairns as New Zealand were bowled out for only 217 with Saqlain Mushtaq clinching a 5-wicket haul.
Gujranwala did get to host two more matches despite the issues with the placement of the pitch in the east-west axis. Pakistan clinched the series with a 46-run win in the second ODI while New Zealand ended the tour on a high with a 7-wicket victory in the final game.
