This year is the year of the World T20, hence, cricket boards will be putting one day of cricket on hold once again as preparations for the ICC World T20 2024 start. Therefore we will see New Zealand vs Pakistan 1st T20I tomorrow.
Both New Zealand and Pakistan would be looking towards giving out match practice to their players and trying different combinations along with bringing in some new faces. While a few Kiwi players would be getting more t20 practice during the IPL as well, this series would hold more importance to Pakistan with their limited number of T20I games for the year.
New Zealand is coming off a T20 series with Bangladesh, where their batting failed to score runs and the series ended in a draw. With Kane Williamson showing his availability for 4 out of the 5 matches, the series is expected to be a good fight.
Pakistan on the other hand would be playing its first limited overs series after the World Cup 2023, and have packed their squad with plenty of new faces and look to try new combinations during the NZ vs Pak T20 series.
Form Guide (Last 5 matches)
New Zealand: W, NR,L, W,W
Pakistan: L,L, W,L, NR
Also Read: T20 World Cup 2024 Schedule, Groups, Scenario
Look out for Kane Williamson and Aamir Jamal
Kane Williamson would be looking to continue his form in the T20 format, for which he has shown his availability as the World T20 draws nearer. Williamson last faced Pakistan in Bengaluru during the ICC World Cup 2023, where he made 95 runs and helped his team post 400 on board.
Meanwhile, Aamir Jamal has been a sensation in the recent Australia vs Pakistan Test series and looks to show his all-around abilities in the shorter format of the game. Pakistan may look forward to playing Jamal in all games as he is the only pace bowling all-rounder option for them and would want to strengthen their bowling and batting with Jamal’s abilities.
Team News: Pakistan bringing in new faces along with a new captain
Shaheen Afridi has been announced as the captain for the Pakistan T20 team, with Mohammad Rizwan serving as his deputy. While Shaheen did captain the team during the Afghanistan series which Pakistan lost, he would be looking for his first series win.
Pakistan is also coming packing in with many new faces. In the batsman category, Azam Khan and Haseebullah are the two new faces. Azam has been able to impress the selectors with his brutal hard-hitting, while Haseebullah will be serving as the understudy for Rizwan. The dashing Saim Ayub has also been kept in the squad and lately has been in the spotlight for his aggressive batting. Sahibzada Farhan is also a new guy who plays as an opener for Peshawar. Meanwhile, in the bowling department, Abbas Afridi finally got his call-up, after being the highest wicket-taker during the PSL 2023.
New Zealand (probable): Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears, Mitchell Santner
Pakistan (probable): Babar Azam, M. Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Iftikhar Ahmad, Azam Khan, Aamir Jamal, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Harris Rauf, Wasim Jr/Abbas Afridi
Pitch and Conditions
The weather would be a typical New Zealand summer with partial clouds but mostly sun rising at Eden Park in Auckland.
The ground is known for being a high-scoring stadium, while the last T20I match played here ended in a tie. In fact, there have been 4 tied t20i matches at this ground.
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