Colombo. When the New Zealand team will face Pakistan in the first match of Super Eight Group 2 of the T20 World Cup on Saturday, then for victory it will be most important that their strong middle order can give the right answer to Pakistan’s spin bowling. New Zealand’s batsmen have not been able to perform well in this big tournament so far, only openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen have scored three half-centuries together. But the middle order batsmen have not been able to support these two properly. The match will start at seven in the evening.
Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell have not been able to play well consistently. Phillips and Ravindra have scored one half-century each, but overall their performance has been lackluster. Ravindra has scored 72 runs in four matches, out of which 59 runs came in a single match against Canada. New Zealand will play in Colombo for the first time in this tournament, which may increase the difficulty. Pakistan has played here since the beginning of the World Cup and has previously played two matches at Premadasa.
Pakistan vs New Zealand Super 8 match on Saturday.
Pakistan’s bowlers, especially the spinners, know the length and pace well on this slow pitch, where hitting a shot requires more intelligence than courage. Therefore, along with the fast batting of Allen and Seifert in the powerplay, New Zealand’s middle order will also have to support them, so that the team can score 180 or more runs. Pakistan’s spinners Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed, Sam Ayub, Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan give the team an edge, but they also have their own problems in batting.
Sahibzada Farhan (220) has scored the most runs for Pakistan in the tournament, followed by Shadab Khan (88). Pakistan’s batsmen will have to perform well against an experienced team like New Zealand. But the Pakistan management is worried about Babar Azam (66 runs in four matches) as the former captain is struggling to understand the demands of T20 batting. If Babar fails again, Pakistan can bring in another player like Fakhar Zaman, who remained on the bench in the group stage. The team may also consider including left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was dropped for the important match against Namibia.
Afridi has taken three wickets in two matches, which shows his weakness in using ‘variations’ on slow pitches. New Zealand’s fast bowlers Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy and James Neesham have been very expensive so far, they will have to rethink their strategy here. At the same time, it is necessary to reduce the pressure on spinners Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and improvisers Ravindra and Phillips.
The teams are as follows: Pakistan: Salman Ali Aga (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafe, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Sam Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq.
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (captain), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Cole McConchie.