Kiwis skipper Kane Williamson once again led from the front and help New Zealand to a 61-run victory by DLS method in the first ODI against Pakistan at Wellington on Saturday. The Kiwis posted 315 runs for the loss of 7 wickets after being put into bat with Williamson top-scoring with 115 runs off 117 balls, while in-form Colin Munro score another fifty (58) and Henry Nicholls (50) also chipped in with useful contributions. Pakistan was 166-6 after 30.1 overs when rain brought the match to an early end. Opener Fakhar Zaman was 82 not out and Faheem Ashraf 17 was not out but Pakistan was well short of the 227 runs it needed to win the match under the Duckworth-Lewis system when rain finally set in.

New Zealand swing bowler Tim Southee captured two wickets in the first over of the Pakistan innings to place the tourists under immediate pressure in reply. Southee trapped both Azhar Ali (6) and Babar Azam (0) lbw within his opening over, then took a catch from Trent Boult's bowling to dismiss Mohammad Hafeez (1) to leave Pakistan's innings in disorder earlier at the score of 13-3. Fakhar batted superbly to recover the innings, reaching his half century from 63 balls and putting on 78 runs for the sixth wicket with Shadab Khan. But Pakistan never approached the run-rate it needed to win the match whether or not rain intervened game.

New Zealand was on top from the start as Williamson, currently the No. 4-ranked batsman in ODI cricket, reached his 10th ODI century from 106 balls to lead his team to a record total at the Basin Reserve. Opener Colin Munro also enhanced his reputation as one of the world's leading ODI batsmen, giving the New Zealand innings a sound foundation with is fifth ODI half century.