Howdy, everyone! Welcome to PtvSports’s coverage of Pakistan vs New Zealand: PAK vs NZ Live Online.
Hello cricket lovers and welcome to the first of the five-match T20I series between New Zealand and Pakistan at Eden Park, Auckland. Rvel Zahid is here to take you through all the action tonight.
Pakistan have won the toss and will bowl first.
Pakistan announced their playing 11 last night:
Pakistan XI: M Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan (wk), Aamir Jamal, Usama Mir (Debut), Shaheen Afridi (c), Abbas Afridi (Debut), Haris Rauf
New Zealand XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Matthew Henry, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears
Phew, that was an enthralling series opener with batters having a feast out there. Tim Southee showed the recipe for success on this pitch; he bowled his slower ones with unerring accuracy and picked up a match-winning four-fer. Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals and the equation became tougher with each passing over. Just when batters strung together a partnership and got a semblance of control, New Zealand managed to get an upper hand in the game with a wicket.
Pakistan will rue the lapses in the field but we can expect them to come up with better bowling plans in the upcoming games and fine tune their performance. That’s it from ESPNcricinfo’s coverage of the first T20I. Don’t forget to join us again on Sunday for the second meeting between these two sides in Hamilton. Until then, it’s goodbye and goodnight from Rvel Zahid and rest of the crew.
Kane Williamson, New Zealand Captain: That was pretty chaotic. There were some really good partnerships throughout obviously a fantastic knock from Darryl, but some really valuable contributions, guys, coming in doing the work. I thought everybody contributed really well with the ball. We had partnerships in the first half. A special mention to Tim Southee, that was a remarkable spell. Everyone contributed well with the ball. He has been around for a long, long time. It was a fantastic game. It was great to see a fantastic crowd, hope they continue to support throughout the series. Need to build on the positives,I mean there’s always little things to touch on but rather build on the positives…the margins are fine in this format.
Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan Captain: First time captaincy, always proud captaining your country. Short boundaries for fast bowlers but it’s just a start and we played very good cricket. We will try to give our best in nest few games. Mitchell played really well. We need to do more work as a fielding unit. I think for us it’s a positive sign, Saim Ayub played a good innings, you need to give them time and we are planning for World Cup and that’s a start. As a bowling unit, we need to use variations at right time
Shah: “Cant understand the criticism on Babar. He literally did what Williamson did, just a tad bit better “
Jutt: “The big difference between the two teams today is fielding. Pak is so poor in fielding as same in Aus test series and received white wash for that. They need to improve thier fielding to win matches otherwise ready for another defeat in kext mathes too.
Chandan: “And with that Fourfer The Maestro Southee Equals Great Courtney Walsh with Most International Wickets…Take a Bow Tim”
DrBee: “Looking at Abbas Afridi’s dismissal, it always amazes me how the batsmen manage to find just that one fielder in the outfield “
The visitors are coming off a recent 3-0 defeat in Australia. However, the scoreline doesn’t really reflect the competitiveness and the seesaw battle in those three enthralling Tests, which could have turned out differently had Pakistan held their chances at crucial junctures. But, T20 is a format that is right up their alley and they have assembled a strong squad. Pakistan is set to test some youngsters, with last year’s Pakistan Super League’s leading wicket-taker, Abbas Afridi, keen to strut his stuff. Usama Mir will be making his first appearance for the national team in this format too.
Keep an eye on Aamer Jamal, who is expected to carry his red-hot form into the shorter format after a dream Test debut in Australia. In the Test series, he emerged as the second-leading wicket-taker and also bagged the player of the match award in the third Test in Sydney for his all-round heroics. He bowls a potent heavy ball and is a powerful striker of the ball, potentially addressing Pakistan’s search for quality all-rounder. Some exciting opportunities are up for grabs, and let’s see if these newcomers can stake their claim.
Both teams will be working to fine-tune their permutations and combinations ahead of the all-important World Cup in the United States and West Indies, scheduled in about six months.
Mohammad Haris, who had a stellar T20 World Cup outing in 2022, apparently fell down the pecking order and couldn’t secure the selectors’ nod for this series. Meanwhile, Azam Khan has another opportunity to make a mark. After another back-to-back great CPL season last year, and considering his familiarity with the conditions where the World Cup is going to be held, along with his decent record, he has been given another chance to cement his spot.
Shaheen Afridi will take the new ball.
7.05pm: Players from both teams are on the field for the national anthems
Ando: “That is one looooong tail for NZ. How the selectors can’t include Clarkson in this side is beyond me”
Nauman: “Abbas Afridi is a brilliant short format bowler , We have seen his talent in PSL and now it’s time for International.”
Aamer Jamal: It’s my first time in New Zealand, I’ve been enjoying so far. That was a fantastic tour (Australia), dream debut series for me. It wasn’t that easy for me to get into Pakistan Test side, but I kept that dream alive to represent Pakistan, believed in myself, and worked on my skills in all three departments.
Umar: “Nice to see Abbas Afridi making the debut. We can expect to see some Gulduzers from the nephew of Umar Gul”
Neal: “Really enjoyed Saim Ayub’s batting in the 3rd test against Australia. Although it was only a cameo, he took on a very fine bowling attack with positive intent. Just one innings but it was impressive.”
Ghulam Ahmed Ju: “Aren’t nz a little short when it comes to batting depth? A few early wickets and Pak could get into the lower middle order and tail fairly quickly “
ruptured his right achilles while batting for Worcestershire in the T20 Blast last year and hasn’t yet fully recovered from injury
Bilal Rafique : “How unlucky is Wasim jr, always performs well, gets dropped, his replacements don’t do well and he’s recalled to do the job again. “
Qazi Atif: “Fakhar and Ayub will be a dynamic opening pair, hopefully we’ll see them soon together “
Ammad: “I feel the best position for Babar to bat in T20 is opening. He won’t be useful in last few overs as he is not a six hitter and takes time to get going! But let’s see how it goes”
6.38pm: Toss and New Zealand XI are coming up shortly. Stick around
While Henry and Conway will be part of all five T20Is, Ferguson will come in only for the last three games while Williamson will miss the third T20I Henry, Williamson, Ferguson and Conway back for Pakistan T20Is
“With Trent Boult fulfilling franchise commitments, New Zealand have spread the net far and wide to try and find fast bowlers who can lead their attack, both for right now and also looking ahead to the future” More from Alagappan Muthu in his feature T20 World Cup agenda dominates clash of the titans
Let’s get you up to speed with this feature by Danyal Rasool, which includes quotes from Pakistan’s newly appointed T20 captain, Shaheen Afridi, and discusses where Pakistan stands in terms of World Cup preparations Main character Afridi begins his biggest test in tranquil New Zealand
Nishant: “Hey Rvel, could you please confirm that Abbas Afridi is nephew of Umar Gul? Yes, he’s the nephew of Umar Gul
6.15pm: New Zealand are bolstered by the return of Kane Williamson, who still experiences some lingering effects of the knee injury picked up in last year’s IPL but it’s not debilitating enough to make him miss this crucial preparation series for the showpiece event later this year. Moreover, Matt Henry is eager to get back on the field after recovering from injury as New Zealand have decided to go in with a strong squad.
In the overall ledger, Pakistan has tasted victory in 20 matches, while New Zealand has won on 13 occasions, and one match ended in a stalemate. At home, New Zealand have won eight times while Pakistan have emerged victorious on seven occasions in T20Is.
6.05pm: First up, we have an important news from New Zealand camp: Mitchell Santner has been ruled out of opening T20I
Santner won’t travel to Eden Park this evening for the opening T20I against Pakistan after testing positive for COVID earlier today. He has been in isolation at the team’s Auckland hotel after testing positive this morning and he’ll continue to be monitored over the coming days and will travel to his home in Hamilton.