New Zealand Vs Pakistan: 1st ODI Preview – Wellington

It’s going to be an exciting bilateral series for Pakistan to counter another in-form team in the form of hosts New Zealand, as the series will be beginning with the first One-day International of the five-match series at Basin Reserve in Wellington on Saturday (January 6).

Batting Vs. Bowling:

With Sarfraz Ahmed looking to see his bowling stock delivering according to the expectations, the Men in Green is further laced with the world-ranked number one fast bowler Hassan Ali, who has played a significant role for Pakistan before whitewashing Sri Lanka 5-0 in the ODI series in the United Arab Emirates.

Moreover, the bowling spearhead Mohammad Amir has been a strong pillar for the Pakistan camp who would be further helped by the promising left-arm bowler Rumman Raees.

Apart from the trio, the visitors had also availed the services of bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf, as the slow bowling department is heavily relying on teenage sensation Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz.

Pakistan has enlisted the players purely based on the talent while they are supposed to face the acid test on the Kiwis shores.

On the other side, Pakistan might be struggling to have the distinct options regarding bowling option owing to the injuries, but the visitors are confident to see players adapting to the conditions well which is a massive task for the unpredictable side like Pakistan.

However, with the return of off-color opener Martin Guptill, the hosts’ base would be strengthened as Colin Munro has been in some great form.

During the recently concluded ODI series, Kane Williamson-led New Zealand has whitewashed Windies 3-0 before sealing the three-match Twenty20 International series 2-0 on January 3 (Wednesday).

The history of ODI cricket between Kiwis and Pakistan:

The Black Caps and Pakistan wrestled each other in the 50-over format since 1973 which eventually saw the teams have faced off in 98 ODIs in which the visitors have registered 53 wins as Kiwis won 40 fixtures.

Moreover, the two ended on a no-result, and a solitary fixture ended in a tie.

In 2014-5 and 2015-16 Pakistan was routed by the hosts which further saw the visitors registering a solitary series win over Kiwis since past 16 years in New Zealand conditions.

Two key players for each team:

If we talk about New Zealand, their leader Kane Williamson has a massive role to play in batting and paceman Tim Southee with the ball.

Pakistan would be relying on senior campaigner Azhar Ali with the bat and prominent bowler Mohammad Amir with the white ball.

What both teams are looking for:

Aiming for the winning ways of late, both teams have series wins on the back and are looking to continue with that momentum, but at the same time Pakistan batters have struggled in such conditions, and the previous example is when Pakistan flew to New Zealand in January 2016.

With New Zealand banking on strength and familiar conditions, Pakistan is also capable of bouncing back when it comes to winning the matches and would be relying on senior campaigners like Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez.

How pitch would play its role for the 1st ODI:

While going into the traditional approach of the pitches in New Zealand, the Kiwis surfaces have had offered a lot for the bowlers, and this particular surface is bound to help the fast bowling owing to the norm of the pitch so far.

Weather Report:

The showers are expected during the match, but that is not going to affect the full game according to the weatherman.