NZ v Pak 2nd ODI Preview: Hosts look to seal the series in Napier

Pakistan lost by 70 runs to New Zealand in the first one-day international on Monday and will have to pull off a win in Napier to stay alive in the series. The home side on the other hand will look to seal the series before reaching Auckland for the final match. The McLean Park surface is usually full of runs, but the weather does not look promising. The forecast suggests there will be rain until the early afternoon, and cloud thereafter. The teams will hope that the game isn’t a stop-start affair.

New Zealand:

Four top players are ruled out of the next match, but such is the depth in New Zeland’s cricket at present that they have a bowler of Doug Bracewell’s quality to replace Mitchell McClenaghan. Their middle order had seemed a weakness, but on Sunday, it was Henry Nicholls and Mitchell Santner who revived the team with their seventh-wicket stand. Even the tailenders made a telling contribution that reflected the never say die attitude of the team.

New Zealand will continue to just do the basics right and keep the pressure on the Pakistanis. Their latest exciting young player is Henry Nicholls, who on Sunday played virtually the perfect rebuilding innings. Nicholls punished short balls as he established himself at the crease before launching for the final push. His talents have been noticed internationally as well – the Sydney Thunder picking him up for a two-match stint towards the end of the Big Bash League. He will want to stamp his class on the second ODI as well. Overall the team is well balanced and appears a tough opposition to beat specially in their backyard.

Pakistan:

Having held New Zealand at 99 for 6 in the first ODI, Pakistan eased their grip – introducing spinners to hasten the over-rate – and the New Zealand lower order shoved them to the ground. It was a disheartening loss for the visitors and they will need to be more consistent to make a comeback in the series. After four low scores in the tour now, Ahmed Shehzad will want to make an impactful contribution on what has traditionally been the best batting track in the country. Pakistan will probably keep their attack intact, but Shoaib Malik is likely to come back into the middle order, having recovered from his injury. Sohaib Maqsood seems likeliest to make way.

There is an edge to this Pakistan attack with the pace and variety it possesses however consistently executing the skills appears to be a greater challenge. There was also lack of intent with the ball and bat in the previous ODI. With six wickets down by the 23rd over, they opted to reserve the quicks for later in the innings, instead of looking for those last four scalps. Then the chase of 281 began slowly – only 33 coming from the Powerplay. Pakistan will need to be smarter in their tactics in their Napier else more disappointment awaits them on this tour.

Form guide: (last five matches, most recent first)

New Zealand: WWLWW

Pakistan: LLLLW

New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson (capt.), 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 BJ Watling (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent Boult

Pakistan (probable): 1 Azhar Ali (capt.), 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Babar Azam, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Mohammad Rizwan, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Mohammad Amir, 11 Mohammad Irfan

Stats:

1. Trent Boult became the top-ranked ODI bowler in the world after his four wickets in the first match. Matt Henry is seventh on that list, while Mohammad Irfan is tenth.

2. Babar Azam has struck a fifty in half of his eight ODI innings so far.