Yet another day and yet another cricket series. Its New Zealand vs Pakistan tomorrow at Eden Park for the 1st T20I match of the series. The Kewis will entering this series high on confidence after their comfortable series victory against the West Indies. Even though Kane Williamson and Trent Boult were rested for the T20I series against West Indies. But still the likes of Glenn Phillips, Jamieson and Mitchell Santner were too good for the West Indies side. Moreover its always been difficult to defeat any New Zealand side on their soil. With T20 World Cup scheduled next year Kewis have decided to try few new faces and hence have added Blair Tickner and Jacob Duffy to their bowling unit. They even have an explosive batting line up which will definitely give them confidence ahead of this series.
On the other hand, Pakistan are already in the back foot even before the start of the series. Their skipper Babar Azam has already been ruled out of the whole T20I series. Babar’s absence will be a huge set back for the Pakistan side. Even Mohammed Amir has not been added in the squad. Mohammed Amir had an impressive LPL 2020 tournament and he will be missed for sure. Talking about their bowling line up, the trio of Wahab Riaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf will play a key role in deciding their sides fortune in the T20I series. Meanwhile the conditions in New Zealand will definitely suit the Pakistan bowlers.
Match Details:
Match: New Zealand vs Pakistan, 1st T20I.
Date: 18th December 2020, 11.30 AM IST
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland.
Pitch Report:
Meanwhile the pitch at Eden park is a batting paradise. We can expect an high scoring encounter tomorrow. The pitch is very much flat and is good for batting. While the dimensions of the ground will give an extra advantage to the batters. The bowlers will get extra pace and bounce off the pitch but there is no room for error. We can predict a score of something above 170 on this pitch.
Predicted XI:
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (WK), Martin Guptil, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (C), Scott Kuggelijn, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy and Blair Tickner/ Doug Bracewell.
Pakistan: Mohd Rizwan (WK), Abdullah Shafique, Haider Ali, Mohd Hafeez, Shadab Khan (C), Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Wahab Riaz, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf.
Fantasy Team Suggestion for New Zealand vs Pakistan:
Team 1: G Phillips, M Rizwan, D Conway, H Ali, M Guptill (C), J Neesham, S Kuggeleijn, S Khan (VC), D Bracewell, H Rauf and S Afridi.
Team 2: G Phillips, A Shafiq, D Conway, H Ali, M Guptill (C), J Neesham, S Kuggeleijn (VC), M Hafeez, D Bracewell, F Ashraf and S Afridi.
Disclaimer: The above teams are been made based on the understanding, analysis and instinct of the author. While making a team consider the points mentioned and take your own decision.
