ICC World Cup 2019: Match 33, New Zealand vs Pakistan – Toss Report

An exciting encounter is on the cards when New Zealand take on Pakistan on June 26 (Wednesday) at Edgbaston in Birmingham. While this is a must-win game for Sarfaraz Ahmed & Co, the Kiwis will secure a top-four spot with another win.

Pakistan look for a win to stay alive

Pakistan are one of the most unpredictable teams in the tournament. They were superb in the game against South Africa, dominating them in all the departments. But they will have to keep up the games in the remaining matches. They have had a slow start, and the senior cricketers failed to raise their game, but things have finally started to fall in place, and Pakistan need to sustain the match-winning effort in the games to follow.

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On the other hand, New Zealand is likely to seal the top four berth with one more win. Kane Williamson’s men have been outstanding across departments, led by the captain himself. Ross Taylor has been a supporting act, but an effective one at that, while Colin de Grandhomme has struck vital runs and chipped in with economical overs to complement the pace attack. Lockie Ferguson’s pace and Trent Boult‘s accuracy have been an exact match-up to their batting and are yet to suffer a defeat in this World Cup.

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Date and Venue: Pakistan vs New Zealand, 26 June (Wednesday) at 3:00 PM ISt, Edgbaston in Birmingham

Toss Report

Toss delayed due to wet outfield.

The umpires have inspected and the toss will be at 3:30 PM IST. There will be full 50 overs of action.

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has won the toss and elected to bat first against Pakistan.

Playing XI

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed(w/c), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham(w), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

Here is what the captains said,

Kane Williamson

We are going to have a bat. Very cold conditions and it’s a used pitch. There might be a bit of swing early on and we are gonna try and negotiate that early. We are going with the same team. We are going with horses-for-courses type of mentality. There was some consideration (about team changes) with this being played on a used surface, but we have gone with the same team. Pakistan are a very strong side and for us its about building on the performances and keep winning. Keep trying to do your job and fulfil the role given today. A great atmosphere (with a lot of fans) and we are looking forward to it. Every game throughout the tournament has a similar feeling riding on it and hopefully have a good game.

Read More: ICC World Cup 2019: There Is No Scope Of Being Overconfident – Mitchell Starc

Sarfaraz Ahmed

We wanted to bat first and we are not worried about the conditions as that is not in our hand. Good to see him (Amir) back in form and others also bowled really well especially in the last game. Catching is a concern and hopefully, we will do well as a fielding unit today. Pakistan can do anything and we are taking it game by game, hopefully, we will do well. No team changes.