New Zealand tour of Pakistan, 2023

PAK vs NZ, 3rd ODI

Preview

Pakistan and New Zealand will square off for the 3rd game of the five-match ODI series which will be played on Wednesday, May 3 at the National Stadium in Karachi. 

Pakistan managed to win the first two games and enter into this encounter riding high on confidence. The second match of the ODI series which was played on 29th April in which the home side fetched their second victory by 7 wickets. The Kiwis padded up first and drafted a total of 336 runs at a loss of 5 wickets. Chad Bowes scored 51 runs giving their side a perfect start. This was later converted into big scores by Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham who smashed 129 and 98 runs respectively to put up a huge total. Haris Rauf took a four-fer but overall the Pakistan bowling attack failed to stop the flow of runs.

The second inning of the game was a lesson for the New Zealand bowlers. Fakhar Zaman smashed his second consecutive century (180 runs off 144 balls) of the series. Skipper Babar Azam came to bat at the first down and played another fine knock of 65 runs. The finishing touch was provided by Mohammad Rizwan who scored another 54 runs off just 41 deliveries to bring another victory to the Men in Green with 10 balls to spare. Out of five batters, two scored half-centuries and one century which clearly indicates that the Blackcaps need to improve their quality of bowling and pick wickets at regular intervals to remain in the game.

Match Details

Match: PAK vs NZ, 3rd ODI, New Zealand tour of Pakistan, 2023

Date: Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Time: 4:00 PM 

Venue: National Stadium, Karachi

Pitch and Weather Report

The pitch at National Stadium, Karachi usually provides a good surface for the batting side. The average run of the first innings is 310 runs. Hence it is quite expected that the team winning the toss will be willing to bat first as this pitch is a batting paradise for the batters.

The highest and lowest temperatures on the matchday at Karachi are 32 and 26 degrees Celsius. The humidity on the day is 52% and there is no chance of rain. The weather will be sunny and ideal to play cricket. 

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), Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi

NZ: Chad Bowes, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c & wk), Mark Chapman, Henry Nicholls, James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry

Match Prediction

Pakistan seems to be invincible at their home. The way their batters and bowlers are coordinating is the strongest point of their squad. The Islanders need to get their bowling attack strong in order to defend a target or to restrict the opponents to a low-scoring total. The National Stadium is a batters' paradise and hence the batters will come in handy. The way the home side is performing, they are the current favourites to win the match and seal the series victory by a 3-0 margin. 

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