Pakistani fast man Shoaib Akhtar is becoming as big a problem for New Zealand batsmen as South African lower order batsmen are for New Zealand bowlers.

His performance in Karachi yesterday was just another phase of his personal demolition job on New Zealand.

When he dismissed captain for the day Craig McMillan, Akhtar secured his 100th One-Day International wicket in only his 60th match.

Of his 105 wickets in ODIs 21 of them are against New Zealand.

While his overall average and economy rates are 19.63 and 4.49 respectively, against New Zealand the same figures are 13.23 and 4.40.

He had a strike rate of a New Zealand wicket every 18 balls he bowls, as opposed to a wicket every 26.2 balls he bowled against other sides.

When achieving his career-best figures of six for 16 yesterday, he surpassed his previous best of five for 19, also against New Zealand in Auckland last summer.

Fourteen of his 21 New Zealand wickets are bowled and his figures were the 10th best bowling figures in ODI history, and the fourth best by a Pakistani.

They also represent the best figures by any bowler against New Zealand, surpassing Waqar Younis' six for 30 at Auckland in 1993/94.

He was the third equal fastest player to reach 100 ODI wickets, only behind team-mates Saqlain Mushtaq (53 matches) and Waqar (59).

The back to back wins by more than 150 runs by Pakistan, firstly against Sri Lanka in the Sharjah Cup final then at Karachi, is the first occasion this has happened in ODIs.

The margin of 153 runs is New Zealand's second worst defeat in terms of runs. It is ahead of the loss by 174 runs to India at Hyderabad in 1999/00.

Pakistan's win ended a run of five ODI losses in Karachi. The first of those losses was inflicted by New Zealand on their last visit there.

(Statistics prepared by Duane Pettet)

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