5th T20I preview: Pakistan seek pride versus confident New Zealand
What's the story
The fifth and final T20I of the series between New Zealand and Pakistan will be played on March 26.
The match will be played at Sky Stadium in Wellington, starting at 11:45am IST.
Having already sealed the series 3-1, New Zealand would want to finish on a high.
Meanwhile, Pakistan would be hoping for redemption after suffering a humiliating defeat in the last fixture.
Here we present the match preview.
Details
Pitch report and broadcast details
The Wellington track is known to offer substantial assistance to both pacers and spinners.
Sides batting second have won 11 of the 22 T20Is here with the average first-innings score being 153, as per Cricbuzz.
Fans can catch the live telecast of the match on Sony Sports Network (11:45am IST.).
Those preferring online streaming can do so on Amazon Prime Video, SonyLIV, as well as FanCode app and website.
H2H
A look at the head-to-head record
As per ESPNcricinfo, Pakistan still have an edge over NZ in T20Is as they own 24 victories and 22 defeats (NR: 2).
However, on New Zealand soil, the Kiwis have 15 wins and nine defeats against the team.
Pakistan's preceding T20I assignment in the nation was a five-match series last year.
The Men in Green lost the first four games before avoiding a whitewash.
NZ vs PAK
NZ have been brilliant with their resources
Despite missing a few key players due to the IPL, New Zealand have dominated most of the series.
Their bowlers have struck early and often during fielding restrictions.
This has effectively limited Pakistan's ability to take risks on high-scoring surfaces.
Pakistan's new aggressive T20 strategy has shown promise, especially during the third game at Eden Park.
Despite facing challenges throughout the series, there have been glimpses of quality.
XIs
Here are the Probable XIs
New Zealand (Probable XI): Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Tim Robinson, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Hay (wk), Michael Bracewell (c), Ben Sears, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy.
Pakistan (Probable XI): Mohammad Haris (wk), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha (c), Irfan Khan, Shadab Khan, Khushdil Shah, Abdul Samad, Shaheen Afridi, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf.
Stats
Here are the key performers
With 152 runs at a strike rate of 185.37, Tim Seifert is the leading run-getter of the series.
Three of Jacob Duffy's four T20I four-fers have come against Pakistan with two coming in the ongoing series.
Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi are the top two wicket-takers vs NZ in T20Is, having claimed 40 and 35 scalps, respectively.
The third T20I saw Hasan Nawaz score the fastest century by a Pakistani in T20I cricket, off just 44 balls.