Pakistan seek to bounce back

LAHORE: Hosts Pakistan will look to bounce back in the series when they take on New Zealand in the fourth T20I of five-match series scheduled to take place on Thursday (today) here at the Gaddafi Stadium, with the game to commence at 19:30 local time.

After the first match of the series was washed out due to rain, Pakistan secured a 7-wicket victory in the second match before New Zealand made a stunning comeback to level the series with a 7-wicket win of their own in the third match.

Pakistan will be relying on the batting of Saim Ayub, Babar Azam and allrounder Shadab Khan and New Zealand will be looking for contributions from Mark Chapman, Tim Robinson and Tim Seifert.

Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan is likely to miss the rest of the series due to a hamstring injury sustained during the third T20I. Usman Khan is likely to assume the wicketkeeping responsibilities in Rizwan’s absence.

The home team will be bitterly disappointed after a defeat on Sunday where their batting and bowling performance was far from satisfactory. The Black Caps will enter the contest hoping to continue their winning momentum in this fixture.

The Gaddafi Stadium is known for scores around 175-180. Both spinners and pace bowlers can expect some assistance from the pitch as the game progresses. A cloudy evening with temperatures as high as 33°C during the playing hours is predicted. However, there is no chance of rain or thunderstorms.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Haseebullah, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohmmad Amir, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Zaman Khan

New Zealand: Michael Bracewell (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Dean Foxcroft, Ben Lister, Cole McConchie, Jimmy Neesham, Will O’Rourke, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi.