New Zealand vs Pakistan, 5th ODI - Match Result Predictions

New Zealand and Pakistan will lock horns for one final time in the ongoing ODI series at Basin Reserve in Wellington on Friday. They have completely dominated the visitors so far and are looking for the perfect whitewash going into the T20I series. Pakistan, on the other hand, would want to save the blushes for themselves and win the match after competing for the most part of the fourth match.

Wellington will be hosting its second match of the series and the pitch is once again expected to be as flat as a road. These two teams met at the same venue in the first ODI when the Kiwis posted 315 batting first after losing the toss. The Men in Green, however, struggled in the chase with only their opener Fakhar Zaman putting up a stunning fight. The rain also played its part as the home side won the game by 61 runs by DLS method.

The way Pakistan performed in the last match, expect nothing short of another close contest between the two teams. The winners of Champions Trophy last year will not concede the whitewash so easily. Kane Williamson led side is also geared up to keep them winless as they chase their 12th straight win across formats in their current home season.

Here is what CricTracker predicts for the game:

Scenario 1: New Zealand wins the toss

Toss Prediction: New Zealand will choose to bat first

First innings score prediction: 320-330

Result prediction: New Zealand will win the match by 20-25 runs

Scenario 2: Pakistan wins the toss

Toss Prediction: Pakistan will choose to bat first

First innings score prediction: 275-285

Result prediction: New Zealand will win the match by 3 wickets

Head to Head Record

Overall: Total Matches – 102, New Zealand Won – 46, Pakistan Won – 53, No Result  – 2 Tie  – 1

Playing Combinations

New Zealand

With the series well and truly under control, expect New Zealand to try out a couple of players who warmed the bench in the last game. Matt Henry is expected to play as he hasn’t featured in the series so far. Lockie Ferguson might make way for him after highly impressing in the opportunities he got. The team looks well settled with the openers Colin Munro and Martin Guptill scoring runs consistently. The middle order has more often than not bailed the team out of trouble whenever needed.

Moreover, Colin de Grandhomme announced his return to the international with a trailblazing knock a couple of days ago. The bowling attack is looking well settled with Trent Boult breathing fire with the new ball. His partner Tim Southee has also been excellent with Mitchell Santner also picking wickets in the middle overs. Another clinical performance is on the cards from the hosts.

Probable XI: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Trent  Boult, Matt Henry

Pakistan

The visitors have a lot of questions to answer to avoid the whitewash in Wellington. They were in the driver’s seat in the last game before de Grandhomme storm hit them and took the match away from them. The experiment of promoting Faheem Ashraf to open failed miserably and Imam-ul-Haq might get a look in for the final ODI. Shoaib Malik is fit to retain his place after suffering from concussion in the last match. Mohammed Hafeez is in great form and they would hope for Babar Azam to click who has had a terrible series so far.

Even Mohammad Amir is out of touch with Rumman Raees taking the new ball with him. Both will retain their places but will have to justify the faith shown in them by the team management. Shadab Khan was class apart with his leg-spin couple of days ago and the skipper Sarfraz Ahmed would hope he spins the web again around the home side. The captain also needs to lead from the front with the bat.

Probable XI: Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammed Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Aamer Yamin

Though Pakistan fought gamely in the last game, New Zealand are expected to whitewash them as they are more equipped to the conditions on offer.

The prediction is for New Zealand to win the series and win the series 5-0 like a boss.

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