New Zealand up against confident Pakistan in their World Cup opener
New Zealand play their first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 Super 12 match in Group 2 against Pakistan, who began their campaign with a historic win against India.
It took 13 attempts for Pakistan to finally get a win against India in World Cups, but when they did on Sunday, it was emphatic. The manner of their 10-wicket win, as much as the result, will give Pakistan confidence in their abilities as well as their plans for the rest of the tournament.
But, as skipper Babar Azam was quick to point out after the match, this is just the start for the team. “There’s a long way to go in the tournament,” he said. “It won’t get easier just because we beat India.”
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Next up for Pakistan are New Zealand, a formidable team in global tournaments in recent years.
The Black Caps are playing their first match of the tournament, and will be keen to start strongly. They have batters who can clear the ropes at the top and in the middle, a reliable anchor in Kane Williamson, tall fast bowlers, quciks who can swing the new ball, and a spin attack with plenty of experience.
On the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings, there is little to separate the teams. Pakistan are placed third, while New Zealand are fourth. Pakistan hold a historical edge over New Zealand in the format, though, having won 14 and lost 10 contests between the sides. The last series between the sides, in December 2020, went New Zealand’s way.
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The teams were supposed to play another series in Pakistan as part of their preparation for the World Cup, but New Zealand pulled out owing to security concerns. Pakistan made their disappointment clear about this, but skipper Kane Williamson didn’t believe this encounter would be a “grudge” match.
“It was a really disappointing situation,” said Williamson. “But there are a lot of good relations with the two teams over the years, we’ve played a lot against each other and a number of players have played with each other as well. So I’m sure it’ll be played in the right spirit.”
Fixture details
- The match: Pakistan v New Zealand
- Time: 18:00 local time, Tuesday 26 October 2021
- Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
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The teams
Pakistan played the near-perfect game against India. Their fast bowlers were devastating in the Powerplay and clever with their variations at the death, while the spinners controlled the middle. They held their catches and their openers showed excellent timing and control, giving nothing away to the Indians. Their challenge will be to be consistent and maintain the intensity. They will also have to adjust to the conditions in Sharjah, where the inconsistent boundary sizes could come into play.
Probable Pakistan XI: Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf.
New Zealand lost their warm-ups to Australia and England, but their bigger concern was injuries. Opener Tim Seifert had an abdominal strain while Mark Chapman was monitored for a hamstring niggle. Williamson too has been nursing an elbow injury that flared up in the warm-up against Australia, so much so that he did not bat against England. However, the skipper confirmed all players were available for selection and while his elbow was “a work in progress”, it was improving.
Probable XI: Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert (wk), Kane Williamson (capt), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee
