T20 World Cup, Pakistan vs NZ: Preview, stats, and more
Pakistan and New Zealand are set to lock horns in the seventh Super 12 encounter of the T20 World Cup. The Sharjah Cricket Stadium will host the match in the evening. Pakistan claimed a historic victory over India in their tournament opener. Meanwhile, New Zealand would want to begin their campaign with a win. Here is the match preview.
Here is the head-to-head record
The two sides have met 24 times in T20I cricket, with Pakistan leading the head-to-head series 14-10. Notably, Pakistan have won six of the last eight T20Is against New Zealand. However, they lost the 2020 T20I series 1-2. As far as the T20 WC is concerned, Pakistan lead New Zealand 3-2. The Kiwis defeated Pakistan in the 2016 edition.
Key details about the match
The Sharjah Cricket Stadium will host the match. It will begin at 7:30 PM IST. The particular venue has produced low-scoring encounters of late, however, the match aggregate in the SL-Bangladesh match was 343. Notably, the surface tends the get slower as the match progresses. One can watch the match live on the Star Sports Network and stream the same on Disney+ Hotstar.
Here are the top performers
Martin Guptill is New Zealand's leading run-scorer in T20Is against Pakistan. He has smashed 509 runs from 18 games at a strike rate of 136.46 against them. In the bowling segment, Tim Southee has taken 23 wickets with the best bowling performance of 5/18. Meanwhile, Mohammad Hafeez leads the runs column for Pakistan against New Zealand (552 runs at 39.42).
Pakistan will draw confidence from the win against India
Pakistan outplayed India in every department to seal a one-sided win. Shaheen Afridi decimated the Indian bowling attack, while Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam got Pakistan home. Pakistan have no reasons to tinker with the line-up. Probable XI: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi.
NZ will bank on their bowlers
New Zealand are set to play their first game of the 2021 T20 World Cup. They suffered consecutive losses in the warm-up games to Australia and England respectively. Notwithstanding, they have a hostile bowling attack. Probable XI: Martin Guptill, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (captain), Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert (wicket-keeper), Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult.
