PAK vs NZ Match Prediction | 1st Match

Betting Tips

Both teams will meet again in the ICC Champions Trophy. This match is essentially a competitive warm-up match for that. Pakistan would be expected to win after showing superb form in ODIs, but also with the home crowd behind them. The Black Caps will be looking to use their earlier arrival in Pakistan to acclimatise to conditions.

Pakistan vs New Zealand Head-to-Head Record

Pakistan and New Zealand have met each other 116 times in all ODIs with 28 of those in Pakistan. Pakistan has won ten more ODIs overall than New Zealand has. In Pakistan, the home team has won 22 ODIs and New Zealand has won six ODIs. Pakistan has also won four of the five most recent meetings between the sides.

Pakistan vs New Zealand Live Streaming and Broadcast

Pakistan host New Zealand for the first match of this ODI Tri-Series, which also includes South Africa. This opening match will take place at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Saturday, 8 February 2025. In India, there will be a TV broadcast and live-streaming for this match on the Sony Ten 5 channel and JioTV app.

PAK vs NZ Team Previews

Pakistan

Fakhar Zaman and Usman Khan are likely to form a new opening pair after Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique were not included in this ODI squad. Both batters are no strangers to getting the team off to a flyer in the opening ten overs.

Fakhar Zaman hit an unbeaten century against the Black Caps in the 2023 Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup. Babar Azam is one of Pakistan’s batting mainstays in the ODI format. He remains one of the finest modern-day batters. He hit a half-century in the same World Cup match as Fakhar Zaman.

Azam’s trusted partner in the middle order, Mohammad Rizwan, captains the side and keeps wickets. Azam and Rizwan hit half-centuries against South Africa in Pakistan’s previous ODI.

Kamran Ghulam, Salman Agha and Tayyab Tahir will be the spine of the middle order. They will look to take the attacking approach in the middle overs to keep building pressure after the dust settles with the new ball. All-rounder Agha has almost 700 runs and almost 20 wickets in ODIs.

In the bowling department, Shaheen Shah Afridi leads the pace attack as one of the best left-arm pacers around in the modern game. The left-armer has 17 wickets in his last seven ODI matches. He is complemented by the raw pace of youngsters Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain.

Afridi and Shah both took two wickets in the third ODI of their series against South Africa. Abrar Ahmed is Pakistan’s mystery spinner. He is a wicket-taking option in the middle overs.

Pakistan Expected Playing 11

New Zealand

Will Young is a technically sound top-order batter. Rachin Ravindra is one of New Zealand’s top rising stars with the bat. Together the right-hand/left-hand opening batting pair of Young and Ravindra have formed a consistent duo.

Ravindra scored a century against Pakistan in his previous match versus Pakistan. Mark Chapman brings attacking spirit into the middle order with his explosive shots. He showed off his power game with a score of 81 runs in his previous ODI innings.

Daryl Mitchell is a dependable cricketer. He offers the solidity with the bat to play every situation in the middle overs with aplomb. Mitchell’s milestones in ODI cricket read six centuries and five half-centuries.
Tom Latham is an accomplished wicketkeeper-batter. He is composed with the bat and from behind the stumps.

Glenn Phillips is a dynamic cricketer not only because of his wide array of run-scoring strokes, but is athletic in the field and an occasional off-spinner too. Michael Bracewell is another versatile player as someone who the skipper can turn to as a batter and a bowler.

All-rounder Bracewell has a combination of over 500 runs and over 20 wickets in his ODI career. Mitchell Santner leads with experience by controlling the game with his spin bowling and late order hitting.

The pace attack features Matt Henry as a consistent wicket-taker, particularly in the powerplay where he uses subtle movement in the air and off the pitch to outfox the top order batters. He took four wickets against Sri Lanka in his previous ODI.

Young quicks Nathan Smith and Will O’Rourke have had their introductions to the highest level. They will want to light up the international stage in Pakistan. Seamer Smith picked up four wickets in his three matches against Sri Lanka.

New Zealand Expected Playing 11

PAK vs NZ Toss Prediction

The last ODI hosted at Gaddafi Stadium was between Pakistan and Bangladesh. That match was won by Pakistan when they chased a target of 194. Both captains may take history and conditions into account when opting to chase under the lights.

Pitch and Conditions

The pitch at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore is generally batting-friendly. There will be good bounce and carry for the fast bowlers too. Batters can use this to their advantage too. The spinners could play a role in the middle overs with some turn on offer from the dry conditions.

The dew factor in night matches can impact the ball having a skiddier feel to it and making chasing easier. The New Zealanders scored 299 all out in their previous ODI in Pakistan.

Lahore is expected to be partly cloudy while also being warm and humid in the afternoon leading into the evening. There is no rain expected on matchday either.

PAK vs NZ Betting Tips

Both teams will be starting to firm up their ODI plans in preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy in the same conditions. Pakistan will be strong favorites after their previous ODI series against New Zealand. They have also been in outstanding ODI form against other nations. New Zealand have been less consistent in recent ODIs and we think they might struggle to start.

Bet on Pakistan to win this match.