Pakistan vs New Zealand, 1st ODI: PAK vs NZ Head to Head, Playing XI, Preview, Where to Watch on TV, Online, and Live Streaming Details

After ending the five-match T20I series on level terms, Pakistan will host New Zealand for five ODIs at home, starting from April 27.

Published - 26 Apr 2023, 16:35 IST | Updated - 26 Apr 2023, 16:16 IST

2 Min Read

Pakistan will clash with New Zealand in the first game of the five-match ODI series on Thursday, April 27 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The recently culminated T20I series between the two heavyweights ended in a stalemate (2-2) and was nothing but exhilarating as fans witnessed plenty of breathtaking action. One could witness the same in the 50-over format.

The last time Pakistan and New Zealand took centre stage for an ODI series was in January and the Black Caps stood victorious back then, clinching the three-match series 2-1. Babar Azam & Co. would look to vindicate themselves and defeat the visitors this time around at home.

Talking about New Zealand, they will be missing some of their key players due to their involvement in the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League, but the Kiwis still have many match-winners in the mix and can give the Men in Green a tough time in the middle.

Pitch and Conditions:

The surface at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium has traditionally been a batting-friendly surface and the same could be the case in the forthcoming encounter. In the 24 ODIs played at the venue thus far , only 11 have been won by the side batting first. Therefore, the team winning the toss might prefer to chase.

Probable Playing XIs for PAK vs NZ, 1st ODI

Pakistan

Most of Pakistan's playing XI picks itself. However, they would brainstorm over Fakhar Zaman’s opening partner. It would be interesting to see who amongst Shan Masood and Imam-ul-Haq makes the cut.

Predicted XI: Fakhar Zaman, Shan Masood, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Haris Sohail, Agha Salman, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah

New Zealand

New Zealand decided to include Mark Chapman in the ODI squad post his exploits in the recently concluded T20I series. Given the kind of form Chapman is in, he is likely to feature in the playing XI. However, the team management would ponder over whether to include a fast-bowling all-rounder in James Neesham or a spin-bowling all-rounder Rachin Ravindra.

Predicted XI: Chad Bowes, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Tom Latham (c), Henry Nicholls, Jimmy Neesham, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Ben Lister, Ish Sodhi