New Zealand vs Pakistan,1st T20I: Stats Preview of Players' Records and Approaching Milestones

After suffering a 3-0 defeat to Australia, Pakistan have travelled to New Zealand for a five-match T20I series starting on Friday, January 12. Both teams are squaring off in this series as a crucial preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies later this year. The action kicks off in Auckland on Friday, before the visitors head to Hamilton, and then Dunedin. Thereafter, the series will conclude with two matches in Christchurch.

The series opener at Eden Park will be the fifth T20I between Pakistan and New Zealand held at the venue, with both teams winning two apiece in their last four encounters there. New Zealand heads into the contest on a high note after levelling their T20I series against Bangladesh at home. In contrast, Pakistan is reeling from a clean sweep at the hands of Australia.

Notably, Kane Williamson will return as New Zealand's T20I captain, while Devon Conway rejoins the squad after being rested against Bangladesh. Matt Henry, back after recovering from an injury sustained during the ODI World Cup, will also bolster the Kiwi bowling attack. Pakistan, led by the fiery fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, welcomes back Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan to the squad.

Click here: NZ vs PAK Live Score, 1st T20I Match

It will be fascinating to see how Pakistan's potent fast-bowling unit performs against a talented New Zealand batting lineup. The approaching series will be the ninth T20I series for both teams. Interestingly enough,  New Zealand and Pakistan have won it on 3 occasions, while the other two games resulted in a draw.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers ahead of the 1st T20I between New Zealand and Pakistan:

New Zealand and Pakistan have faced each other 34 times in T20 internationals, with New Zealand winning 13 and Pakistan emerging victorious on 20 occasions. One match ended in a No Result. 

 3- Mohammad Nawaz (47) needs three wickets to complete 50 wickets in T20I.

 60 - Mark Chapman (2940) needs 60 Runs to complete 3000 T20 runs. 

 147 - Tim Southee (147) needs three wickets to Complete 150 T20I wickets. 

 2 - Fakhar Zaman (48) needs two sixes to Complete 50 sixes in T20Is.

 4 - Matt Henry (146) needs four wickets to complete 150 wickets in T20s.

 55 - Mohammad Rizwan (6945) needs 55 runs to complete 7000 T20 runs.

 77 - Fakhar Zaman (1433) needs 67 runs to complete 1500 T20I runs.

 4 - Ish Sodhi (246) needs four wickets to complete 250 wickets across formats of the game.

Click here: NZ vs PAK 2024 Batting and Bowling Stats