PAK vs NZ Match Preview
There are no injuries reported for this game so far. Babar Azam, the Pakistani skipper is likely to play the same eleven that played in the first game. Almost all the bowlers did a reasonable job together with most of the batters. Shan Massod might be rested for this game and Mohammad Haris could come into the side. The bowler of the match for Pakistan was Naseem Shah though. The Pakistani fast bowler bowled his quota of 10 overs for just 29 runs and picked up 2 victims in the process.
Fakhar Zaman was instrumental in bringing the Pakistani team to a winning position. This was via his impressive innings of 117 runs from 114 balls. He hit 13 fours and 1 six in the process. Imam Ul-Haq played a supporting role to Fakhar Zaman. The duo put on 124 runs for the opening wicket. The hosts are all charged up for the series after squandering a solid 2-0 lead in the T20I series. They have a full team at their disposal and they have done well against New Zealand at this venue.
Although the New Zealand team has a small number of top players available to them for the series, they did a good job in the 1st game. They might consider including Henry Shipley in this game. His additional pace can cause some issues for the Pakistani batters, especially with the new ball. Daryl Mitchell failed to score too many runs in the T20I series. But he finally delivered in the first one-day match with a century. In his second game of the series, Daryl Mitchell will be keen to continue the form he displayed in the first game.
Another player that looked good in the first game was Will Young. This right-handed opening batter hammered a terrific half-century and succeeded in carrying out a significant role in taking the Kiwi total past 280 run mark on Thursday. He scored the runs with a strike rate of 110 and hit 2 sixes and 8 fours in the process. Although New Zealand has lost a few games against Pakistan in the recent past, they have grown accustomed to the Pakistani conditions and they may counter-attack the Pakistanis in this game.
Weather Report
There are some chances of getting a cloud cover during the match however, the weather will remain pleasant mostly.
Pitch Report
The wicket on offer at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, Pakistan is terrific for batting. However, it does offer some help to the seamers early on. But when the shine goes off from the new ball, most batters will enjoy the conditions on offer here. Even the spinners are likely to struggle on this track. Any team batting first on this venue will look to set a target of over 300 runs. Any target less than that is gettable on this surface. As the evidence from the first one-day match displayed Pakistan was able to chase down a big score pretty easily. In recent games, this surface has looked flat and batting-friendly. Even a score of 350 runs is possible on this track if Pakistan bats first.
Notable stats
Pakistan leads the recent head-to-head between the two teams.
If you take a look at the last 5 one-day games between Pakistan and New Zealand, you will find that Pakistan leads the head-to-head 3-2.
Babar Azam has had an incredible average in recent games for Pakistan.
Babar Azam has scored 601 runs for Pakistan in his last 10 appearances for them with an average of 60.10 and a strike rate of 81.99.
Team News
There are no injury updates available for this game so far. So, we can assume that full sides will be available for selection in this game. New Zealand might make some changes to their playing eleven in light of the loss in the first match. Pakistan is likely to field the same side.
PAK vs NZ Probable 11
PAK Playing 11
- Agha Salman
- Shaheen Afridi
- Naseem Shah
- Mohammad Rizwan (Wk)
- Babar Azam (C)
- Fakhar Zaman
- Mohammad Haris
- Haris Rauf
- Mohammad Nawaz
- Imam-ul-Haq
- Shadab Khan
NZ Playing 11
- Rachin Ravindra
- Tom Latham (C)
- Blair Tickner
- Mark Chapman
- Henry Shipley
- Henry Nicholls
- Adam Milne
- Ish Sodhi
- Chad Bowes
- Will Young
- Daryl Mitchell
Dream11 Prediction
As many of their top-order batters are missing in this series the best chance for the Kiwi side in this game is to get lucky at the toss and bat second. Their bowlers will need to make desperate efforts to try and restrict the Pak batters. If this doesn’t work out, they are looking at another thrashing from Pakistan. Pakistan is a formidable side at home especially in the one-day format. They also have a potent bowling attack that can threaten the opposition even on these flat surfaces. New Zealand also have a good depth in their batting but their lack of experience is likely to cost them again. We expect Pakistan to win this game and take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Top Picks
Babar Azam: Babar Azam is in top form at the moment scoring heavy runs for Pakistan. You can bet on him to come good in this encounter as well.
Daryl Mitchell: Daryl Mitchell adds a lot of value to the team with his all-around skills with both bat and the ball. He has not only scored 272 runs in his last 10 games but has also picked up 10 wickets.
Henry Shipley: Shipley has done a commendable job for New Zealand in the last 5 games picking up 11 wickets with a strike rate of 19.36.
Naseem Shah: This young fast bowler has picked up 20 victims in his last 6 games for Pakistan. He will be a threat again in this game for New Zealand.
PAK vs NZ Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: T Latham , M Rizwan
Batters: B Azam (C), I Haq, D Mitchell (VC), F Zaman
All-rounders: J Neesham, S Khan
Bowlers: A Milne, N Shah, H Rauf
