New Zealand tour of Pakistan, 2023

PAK vs NZ, 2nd ODI

Preview

Pakistan and New Zealand will square off for the 2nd ODI of the five-match ODI series which will be played at the Rawal Pindi Cricket Stadium at Rawalpindi on Saturday, April 28. 

The first ODI between the sides ended with Pakistan winning the match by 5 wickets. The Kiwis went on to bat first and posted 288 runs on the scoreboard at a loss of 7 wickets. Will Young got off to a good start with 86 runs off 78 balls and Daryl Mitchell came on at first down to score a fabulous century (113 off 115). These two contributed to most of the total. Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf took two wickets each and Shadam Khan wrecked a single wicket to restrict to a decent target.

Fakhar Zaman started off a firecracker inning scoring 117 runs off 114 deliveries. He was assisted by his co-opener Imam ul Haq who also posted 60 off 65 balls. Later skipper Babar Azam continued the flood of runs by scoring another 49 runs followed up by keeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan who finished off in style, smashing 42 runs off just 34 balls. Barring Adam Milne no other bowlers were effective in stopping the Pakistan batters which led to their loss by 5 wickets in the first game. 

Match Details

Match: PAK vs NZ, 2nd ODI, New Zealand tour of Pakistan, 2023

Date: Saturday, April 29, 2023

Time: 4:00 PM 

Venue: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

Pitch and Weather Report

The average score batting first at this ground is 241 across 24 ODIs. Regardless, recent ODI matches have indicated that the pitch has become exceptionally flat here at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. This year, this surface has witnessed five of the highest team scores in the history of the Pakistan T20 League. With the boundaries being relatively quite short and the outfield being fast, another high-scoring game is likely on the cards. Therefore, the side batting first should aim to set a target of approximately 320 runs.

Teams generally prefer to chase these days in limited-overs cricket, particularly in day-night games as dew helps the chasing team. The skipper winning the toss here is likely to chase the target on this surface at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

The maximum temperature will remain at 33°C, with a low of 19°C with 24% humidity and an 11 km/hr wind speed for the second ODI Match, PAK vs NZ on April 29. During the match day, the weather in Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will be clear. No rain is predicted in this evening encounter, but the weather would be partly cloudy.

PAK vs NZ Squads

PAK: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abdullah Shafique, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Usama Mir, Ihsanullah

NZ: Chad Bowes, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c & wk), Mark Chapman, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Blair Tickner, James Neesham, Henry Shipley, Ben Lister, Tom Blundell, Cole McConchie

PAK vs NZ Probable Playing XIs

PAK: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Haris Sohail, Agha Salman, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf

NZ: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (c), Tom Latham (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Henry Shipley, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson

Match Prediction

Pakistan is in tremendous form and the team is balanced with good coordination among the batters and bowlers. The Blackcaps have somehow managed to draw the T20I series but it will be tough for them to draw an equal line for the ODI series too. They need wickets at regular intervals, especially in the first phase of the game where Pakistan openers are getting off to a good start, but they failed to do so in the first ODI. Thus we believe Pakistan is going to continue their winning streak in the 2nd match. 

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