New Zealand vs Pakistan 2015-16, 1st T20I at Auckland Preview: Rampant hosts seek winning start
New Zealand vs Pakistan 2015-16, 1st T20I at Auckland Preview: Rampant hosts seek winning start
New Zealand have been one of the most awe-inspiring cricket teams in the last couple of years and they will look to maintain that momentum as they take on the visiting Pakistan in the first of three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) at Eden Park, Auckland. The venue was only very recently site of carnage in the same format of the game when New Zealand thrashed Sri Lanka by nine wickets with half an innings to spare. New Zealand will be buoyant about their prospects against Pakistan, who had forgettable home limited-overs campaign against England recently. FULL SCORECARD: New Zealand vs Pakistan 2015-16, 1st T20I at Auckland
The Kiwi team that will take on Pakistan in the second game will not look too different from the one that crushed Sri Lankan spirits. Kane Williamson will get another chance to hone his captaincy skills for the role he is going to assume on long-term basis very soon with Brendon McCullum set to retire from international cricket at the end of the home series. ALSO READ: Todd Astle excited to be back with New Zealand team
New Zealand have been impressive as a unit. The batsmen have been in spectacular form. Martin Guptill has had a fantastic run in limited-overs cricket over the last two years and his form seems to have peeked now. He will look to lead the charge. Williamson who was his co-opener in the Sri Lanka series is likely to resume duties in the No. 3 position with Tom Latham slated for a comeback.
New Zealand’s middle order will be a bit circumspect as Ross Taylor has been rested for the first game. Colin Munro, who scored a 14-ball 50 to decimate Sri Lanka will look to perform feats of similar intent against the Pakistanis. Wicket-keeper Luke Ronchi and Mitchell Santner are also capable of playing crucial roles in the middle order.
In the bowling department New Zealand looks rather well settled. The likes of Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan and Matt Henry have shown that they can be destructive in the absence of Tim Southee and Trent Boult. New Zealand will probably give leg-spinning all-rounder Todd Astle a chance to prove his worth in the T20Is.
From Pakistan’s point of view, the most exciting prospect is going to be the comeback of Mohammad Aamer. After having been the crux of controversial cricket headlines for about five years following his spot-fixing episode, he will look to inspire positive headlines when given the chance. Pakistan’s pace bowling attack looked bare in the series against England and Aamer could be a fix to that problem.
Pakistan do have a strong pace bowling attack in Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul and Anwar Ali. Gul is making a comeback after a rather long hiatus and his performances will be closely scrutinised. Pakistan have a good number of bowlers of spin, but it’s not likely that they will be very effective in Kiwi conditions. Senior all-rounders Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik will bear responsibility in that area.
Pakistan’s batting again boasts lot of big-hitting talent but lacks consistency. Ahmed Shehzad will play a crucial role in the opening slot. There are a lot of new faces in the Pakistan camp and it is hard to tell who will co-open with Shehzad. Mohammad Rizwan is known for his consistency and will look to bring that aspect to the fickle Pakistan batting. Again seniors like Hafeez and Malik will play a crucial role in shaping the batting.
Going by recent form and home advantage factors, New Zealand will definitely go into the opening game as favourites. Pakistan have a lot of obscure faces and it is curious if they will live up to pressures of international cricket against a quality side. Unlike the Black Caps, Pakistan looks like a very unsettled unit and with the ICC World T20 2016 in the horizon they will want to set a few things in place.
New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Mark Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ross Taylor (rested for first game).
Pakistan squad: Shahid Afridi (c), Ahmed Shehzad, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Gul, Aamer Yamin, Anwar Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Saad Nasim, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz
Time: 19:00 local | 06:00 GMT | 11:30 IST
(Rishad D’Souza, a reporter with CricketCountry, gave up hopes of playing Test cricket after a poor gully-cricket career. He now reports on the sport. You can follow @RDcric on Twitter)