PAK vs NZ: "Pakistan Are A Really Good Team In Their Own Conditions" - James Neesham Not Taking Pakistan Lightly

Updated - 14 Apr 2023, 06:29 PM

Jimmy Neesham
Jimmy Neesham (Image Source: Twitter)

New Zealand Cricket Team is all set to lock horns against Pakistan on 14th April (Friday) for the T20I Series. The senior cricketer James Neesham will have to guide the players in the absence of Williamson, Santner, Boult & Southee (not playing due to IPL commitments except Williamson who is injured) James Neesham‘s experience of playing in PSL 2023 would come into handy.

The Men in Green on the other side would be aiming to bounce back strongly after losing T20I Series against Afghanistan by 1-2 which was quite shocking. The hosts would be well aware of the fact that they cannot take New Zealand who recently defeated the Asia Cup 2022 champions Sri Lanka by 2-1 despite star players not featuring.

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It is assumed that the track at the Lahore would be a belter. The role of Ish Sodhi would be quite pivotal, he will have to lead the spin attack in the absence of Santner. The peculiarity of Black Caps is that they have the knack for finding match-winners on a given day.

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We have to be on top of our game to beat Pakistan- James Neesham

James Neesham was having an interaction with the local news channel. James Neesham stated that beating Pakistan won’t be easy & also pointed out that the conditions at Lahore are quite different as compared to the PSL 2023.

“Pakistan are a really good team in their own conditions and we have to be on top of our game to come out on top of the series and hopefully we can use the experiences that a few of us have recently in these conditions,” said James Neesham.

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“I played a few games here during the PSL a month or so ago, I think the feel of the atmosphere has changed a little bit, it’s obviously a lot warmer than it was at that time. So essentially a little bit more on offer for the bowlers as far as swing and that kind of thing,” he added.

Great chance for Pakistan

It would be interesting to see whether Fakhar Zaman opens the batting after an impressive PSL 2023 when he scored 429 runs in 13 matches or Babar & Rizwan continue to open the batting. There are chances that PCB might manage the workload of Shaheen, Naseem & Rauf to avoid injuries ahead of the ICC events aligned in the next couple of years.

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The problem for Pakistan over the last couple of years has been that they don’t have a reliable and dangerous middle order present who can perform in crunch matches. It would be interesting to see whether Shan Masood gets a game in this long T20I Series.

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Tagged:

Haris Rauf Ish Sodhi James Neesham Kane Williamson Mitchell Santner Mohammad Rizwan Naseem Shah New Zealand national cricket team Pakistan national cricket team Pakistan vs New Zealand 2023 Shaheen Afridi Shan Masood Sri Lanka national cricket team Tim Southee