New Zealand tour of Pakistan, 2023

PAK vs NZ, 4th ODI

Preview

Pakistan will cross swords against New Zealand in the 4th game of the 5-match ODI series which will be played at the National Stadium in Karachi on May 5, Friday. 

Pakistan has exhibited yet another dominant performance to seal the series 3-0. They played with their full-strength squad to defeat the New Zealand side. With another two games remaining, they would look forward to a whitewash in the ODI series. Imam ul Haq’s 90 runs framed a decent total for the home side. Babar Azam also played a blistering knock of 54 runs. Matt Henry took three wickets along with Adam Milne and Cole McConchie picked two and one wickets respectively to restrict the home side.

While chasing the target of 290 runs, the Kiwis got off to a good start from their openers. While Will Young scored 33 runs, Tom Blundell played a sturdy knock of 65 runs. Skipper Tom Latham later came in at a critical junction and scored another 45 runs. Cole McConchie played his role as a finisher and played a blistering knock of 64* runs off just 45 deliveries, but Pakistan’s bowling attack limited them to a score of 261 runs. It was a bit unfortunate for the Black Caps as three of their players, including both openers and tailender Matt Henry departed from runouts. The other seven wickets were divided between Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Waseem who picked two wickets apiece to keep a cover on the run flow. Salam Al Agha took another wicket which led to the New Zealand side getting all out falling short of 26 runs with 5 balls to spare. 

It was only Cole McConchie who kept New Zealand in the game till the end, but Pakistan bowlers successfully kept his bat silent which was all they needed to do in order to seal the series. 

Match Details

Match: PAK vs NZ, 4th ODI, New Zealand tour of Pakistan, 2023

Date: Friday, May 5, 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 34 and 26 degrees Celsius. The humidity on the day is 48% 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, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah

NZ: Will Young, Tom Blundell (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c), Mark Chapman, Henry Nicholls, Cole McConchie, Adam Milne, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry

Match Prediction

Based on the present forms, Pakistan will be in the seventh heaven having sealed the series. They will be eyeing a whitewash in the 5-match ODI series to throw a strong message to the other countries ahead of the ODI World Championship which will be played later this year. The Kiwis would now play for their pride and to win the last two remaining matches at least. We expect Pakistan to record a comfortable win over New Zealand in the 4th game as well by looking at the sublime form of their players.

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