New Zealand played India in the Champions Trophy final a week ago. Seven days later, they find themselves gearing up to face their favourite opponent with whatever manpower they could scrape together on the cusp of IPL season. Pakistan, too, are light on experience, but it has nothing to do with any franchise league commitments. Instead, their watered-down squad is due to a calculated attempt to rebuild their shortest-format side before the T20 World Cup next year.
Having crashed out of the group stage in their last three ICC events, an overhaul was expected for Pakistan. But even for the harshest of their critics, an upheaval such as the one the side went through was not on the cards. It’s an entirely new-look team. A fresh captain, younger batters, and an up-to-date ‘aggressive’ strategy to keep up with the times.
In some ways, both Pakistan and New Zealand have had a similar Champions Trophy campaign. Pakistan could not overcome their timeworn brand of play. New Zealand could not shake-off their playoffs-phobia. Consequently, the hosts also have their to-do list ready as they prepare for next year’s T20 World Cup.
Team Overview:
Salman Ali Agha is Pakistan’s new T20I captain. As much as the duo once seemed indispensable, Pakistan have moved on from Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam in the shortest format, for now, at least. There’s a host of new batters, many of whom are still uncapped. Mohammad Haris will both open and keep the wickets, but despite his experience, he remains as iffy, if not more so, as those less experienced than him.
Shadab Khan returns as deputy to Agha and will help Abrar Ahmed in the spin duties. The bowling attack, however, did not undergo as drastic a shift as the batters. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf will lead the pace attack, with the young Abbas Afridi.
New Zealand, meanwhile, will be led by their frontline spinner Michael Bracewell in his spin-partner Mitchell Santner’s absence. Regulars Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell, along with the skipper, will shoulder a big chunk of the responsibility in guiding their second-string side against Pakistan. Jimmy Neesham, Tim Seifert, and Finn Allen are also part of the squad. While Neesham is a certainty to be a starter, Seifert and Allen will clash for one of the opening positions.
With Rachin Ravindra and Will Young as the preferred options in New Zealand’s recent T20I games, both of them remained the second-choice openers. This is also why they did not feature in New Zealand’s T20I series, both home and away, against Sri Lanka after last year’s T20 World Cup. However, Allen might be the likelier candidate to open alongside Tim Robinson, though Seifert could come in the five-game T20I series at some point.
Head-to-Head Matches:
Pakistan and New Zealand have contested each other in 119 shortest-format games, with the former winning 61 of these. Leaving out the four that ended without any result, New Zealand managed to win the remaining 54 matches.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Before Pakistan and New Zealand Men’s teams take the field for the opening match, Sri Lanka Women and New Zealand Women will play a T20I game. Hagley Oval, besides flaunting the picturesque backdrop, offers a fair but spicy contest between bat and ball. It’s usually a very good batting surface, but the hard soil makes sure there is enough bounce for bowlers to exploit. The chilly weather also increases the lateral movement manifold, making batting more tricky.
After New Zealand, Pakistan have played the most number of T20Is at this venue (seven out of 11 T20I games).
Where to Watch:
Pakistan: Tapmad, Tamasha, Ten Sports,
New Zealand: TVNZ+
India: Sony Sports Network
