NZ vs PAK Match Prediction & Analysis
Although the second T20I was a closer contest than the opening game which was won by nine wickets with 59 balls remaining, New Zealand once again got home with very few problems against Pakistan, winning with five wickets and 11 balls to play with on Tuesday.
It means that the tourists need to find another level again in this match if they are just to be competitive against the Black Caps who can go into an unassailable 3-0 lead if they triumph once more on Friday.
Experienced right-arm pacer Haris Rauf returned to the team for the second T20I after being rested for the first game but he was unable to turn the tide in the series and post-match called for the young players in the team to be given 10-15 games at this level before they are properly judged.
That would imply that Rauf believes that some of these players are not quite ready for the levels of international cricket right now which piles more pressure on himself, Shaheen Shah Afridi and captain Salman Agha.
New Zealand will just continue playing with their relentless efficiency and could well have the series in the bag by the time this match concludes.
New Zealand Preview
New Zealand showed their strength in depth by resting Kyle Jamieson and Tim Robinson for the second T20I and bringing in Ben Sears and Jimmy Neesham for that victory. It may be that they choose to give those two players another break for this match and bring them back for successive fixtures at the end of the series, but for now New Zealand are in the luxurious position of being 2-0 up and with options!
On Tuesday it was opener Tim Seifert who once again showed that he has more than enough talent to hold his own at international level. He picked up the Player of the Match award after hitting 45 runs from 22 balls at the top of the order to extinguish any doubts from the home dressing room at the start of their chase.
Earlier in the game, Jacob Duffy, Ben Sears, Jimmy Neesham and Ish Sodhi had all taken two wicket hauls while delivering impressive economy rates. And against this Pakistan batting line-up, it is expected that the New Zealand bowlers will have another good day in this T20I.
New Zealand Predicted Playing XI:
Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Hay (wk), Michael Bracewell (c), Zakary Foulkes, Ben Sears, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy
Pakistan Preview
With a squad which includes some inexperienced players, Pakistan needed some of their experienced heads to step up and deliver in the second T20I and some of them were able to do so but not to the extent where they could level the series.
Surprisingly, Shaheen Shah Afidi had another off-day as he returned three wicketless overs which cost 31 runs in total. This was particularly surprising as he delivered a maiden over in the first over of the innings before Tim Seifert successfully went after him in the third!
Captain Salman Agha impressed with the bat and vice-captain Shadab Khan made a useful contribution down the order before Haris Rauf and Khushdil Shah stood out with the ball.
With the series on the line, Pakistan need all of their top players at their best to give them the best chance of going into the weekend with the score 1-2 as opposed to 0-3.
Pakistan Predicted Playing XI:
Mohammad Haris (wk), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha (c), Irfan Khan, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Jahandad Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Ali
Weather Conditions
The forecast is for a warm day in Auckland with the temperature up at 24 degrees. With this game being played in the evening, the temperature will have dropped a little but will still be in the low twenties with high humidity throughout.
NZ vs PAK Pitch Report
Eden Park is an iconic ground which has seen some very high scores over the years. A par score is likely to be over 200 for whichever team bats first on Friday evening under lights.
Toss: To Bat
Teams batting first have had all the success in recent T20I contests in Auckland so we predict that both captains will arrive at the ground intending to bat first if they win the toss ahead of this match.
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