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Pakistan vs New Zealand 2014, 5th ODI at Abu Dhabi: Pakistan likely XI

Pakistan will look to end the year on a high with a series win over New Zealand.

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Pakistan will look to include an extra spinner © Getty Images
Pakistan will look to include an extra spinner © Getty Images

Pakistan and New Zealand face off in the final game of the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series at Abu Dhabi on Friday. Pakistan will look to end the year on a high with a series win over New Zealand after having an average outing in 2014. The hosts have only managed to win a solitary series, which came against Sri Lanka in the UAE. Amit Banerjee deduces the eleven players that Pakistan are likely to field for the final ODI.

Top-Order: The move to get Nasir Jamshed to open the innings for Pakistan along with Ahmed Shehzad was not a very successful one in the fourth game, with Pakistan losing their first wicket for a mere three runs. The hosts have not been too good in terms of the opening partnerships, with the third ODI being an exception. Mohammad Hafeez and Shehzad had added 63 for the first wicket in that game. The top-order will likely consist of Jamshed, Shehzad, Hafeez, and Younis, though there might be a bit of a shuffle with the opening combination.

Middle-order: The Pakistan middle-order has been fairly consistent in the series so far, with the likes of Shahid Afridi, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, and Safraz Ahmed chipping in from time to time and helping their side consolidate their position. The middle-order was especially crucial in all the games except the third, in which the Pakistan top-order made their mark. The middle-order will need to fire in the final ODI, in the event the hosts face another top-order failure.

Lower-Order/Bowling attack: Pakistan might want to bring in Yasir Shah in place of Sohail Tanvir, who leaked a plenty of runs in the fourth ODI. Yasir has been average performer for Pakistanis in the series so far, and can turn out to be the trump card for the hosts. Mohammad Irfan will be the skipper’s primary weapon in the first few overs. The third spot is likely to be contested between Umar Gul and Anwar Ali, though the latter is likely to be picked.

Pakistan likely XI: Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Shahid Afridi (c), Haris Sohail, Anwar Ali, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Irfan.

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)

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