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Thursday March 28, 2024

Spirited Pakistan face new-look NZ in ODI series opener today

By Abdul Mohi Shah
September 17, 2021

RAWALPINDI: After attaining the No 1 One-Day International ranking on the ICC list, the world Test champions New Zealand will be aiming at salvaging their status going into the first One-Dayer against resettled hosts Pakistan here at the Pindi Stadium today (Friday).

The day-night match will see the Greenshirts gathering their confidence following the untimely upheaval at the helm of affairs in local cricket. With new chairman in place and new team management in charge, Babar Azam’s men will be looking forward to upstage the high-flying Kiwis in an effort to give their 6th ODI ranking an eagerly awaited push.

It took New Zealand almost 18 years to fly back to the country where they were swept aside 5-0 in One-Dayers. But since then, Kiwis have progressed leaps and bounds, emerging as the one of the most powerful cricketing outfits around. Will the tourists show the same consistency in the absence of key players is still a question mark?

“All depends on how quickly we adapt to the conditions here. So far so good our training and preparations for the series have gone very well. Yet, we feel Pakistan being the hosts and at full strength are better placed for the series,” Tom Latham, team captain who now has added responsibility of keeping the side in place of Tom Blundell, who has been ruled out with injury.

Both the countries split the last series 1-1, played at the neutral venue in UAE in 2018. That was the last time Kiwis played in Asia. Elsewhere the results had been encouraging for Kiwis especially at home where they swept Indian and Bangladesh.

“We definitely have a new-look side eagerly wanting to fill in the vacuum left by some key players. I have full faith in my team and am hopeful that they will play to their full potential,” Latham said during a virtual press conference Thursday. The Kiwis’ skipper praised the hosts’ all-round abilities.

“They have got a balanced side capable of matching the best at their home conditions. Pakistan know the conditions well and are used to playing their cricket on such surfaces.”

Latham was also excited about the presence of the crowd. “Good to have at least some (25 percent) spectators’ presence at the ground. It would add to the atmosphere and help cricketers go out even harder.”

Latham said all he wanted his players to stick to the game plan. “If we succeed in playing to the plan, we have chalked it up for ourselves, I think we stand a chance of making a mark.”

For Babar the series provides a golden opportunity to give their confidence a world of good not only in an effort to improve the ODI ranking but to consolidate the formation of the team ahead of the World Cup T20.

With 25 percent of the capacity crowd there to back Pakistan against a team not up to its fullest potential, Babar men start favourite to win the series. Some big guns including the skipper Kane Williamson have already been lured by the Indian Premier League (IPL) leaving the vacuum for Pakistan to exploit.

“We have picked three wrest spinners and possibly would go into the match with two. But we have not decided yet as what would be the best 11 from the 12 we have already announced,” Babar said. The News later learned from team sources that Usman Qadir is all set to get preference over Zahid Mehmood for the opening match. Captain Babar has a special liking for Usman and as such has decided to craft him in the team for Friday's match.

This will be the fourth time the two sides will meet at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in an ODI with Pakistan enjoying a 3-0 advantage. Prior to this match, Pakistan and New Zealand have met 19 times in an ODI in Pakistan between 1976 and 2003 with Pakistan winning 16 times.

Pakistan and New Zealand last met in an international 50-over competition during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 when Babar Azam’s glorious century anchored his side to a fabulous six-wicket win at Birmingham.

This series provides an opportunity to sixth-ranked Pakistan to climb a spot in the ICC Rankings. If the hosts beat the tourists by a 3-0 scoreline, they would jump to fifth position, however, any other result will see both sides retaining their pre-series rankings.

Pakistan’s last outing in the format at this venue was in October-November 2020, when they defeated Zimbabwe 2-1, while in their last ODI series, they defeated South Africa by 2-1.

The series will not be part of the ICC World Cup Super League as both the PCB and NZC have mutually agreed to swap the status of this series with the one taking place in the 2022-23 season. This means the ODI series in the 2022-23 season will count towards the World Cup 2023 qualification while the series commencing on Friday will be a bilateral fixture in which team and player ranking points will be up for grabs.

“Finally, the day has arrived and our entire camp is very excited to play New Zealand at home. We have practiced hard for this series and I am sure we will take full advantage of our home conditions. We have a balanced squad and I remain optimistic about our chances in what promises to be an exciting series. I am sure fans at the stadium and millions watching us on screens will enjoy these matches,” Babar said.

Pakistan team: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imamul Haq, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakil, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Qadir, Zahid Mahmood (12th man).

New Zealand squad: Tom Latham (captain) (wk), Finn Allen, Hamish Bennett, Doug Bracewell, Colin de Grandhomme, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Scott Kuggeleijn, Cole McConchie, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra, Blair Tickner and Will Young.

Match officials: Aleem Dar and Ahsan Raza (on-field umpires), Asif Yaqoob (third umpire) and Rashid Riaz (fourth umpire), Mohammad Javed (match referee).