Who will win New Zealand vs Pakistan 1st ODI?
New Zealand and Pakistan kick off their five-match ODI series in Wellington with the visitors looking to end their poor recent record against the Black Caps. Scheduled to start on January 6, the live action begins at 11:00 local time.
NZ vs PAK 1st ODI: Where to watch/Live streaming
TV channels: Sky Sports, Star Sports, Fox Sports, SuperSport, Willow TV
Live streaming: Hotstar.com, NOW TV
Toss Prediction
Weather conditions will play a big part in the toss decision, with an even pitch expected. That said, however, New Zealand have favoured batting first in most of their recent matches.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds and match prediction for New Zealand vs Pakistan, 1st ODI.
New Zealand Team News & Playing 11
Team News
Martin Guptill's return is the big news from the New Zealand camp, with the big-hitting opening batsman fit again. His inclusion initially meant George Worker – who hit two half-centuries against the West Indies - missed out, but Doug Bracewell's hamstring injury means Worker is back in the squad. Colin de Grandhomme is out for the first two matches following the recent death of his father, but he is expected to return to the squad later in the series.
Key Players
New Zealand will hope the form of Colin Munro will carry on from the recently-concluded T20 series against West Indies, after the opener sealed a Black Caps' series win by smashing his third T20 international century in the final game. He also hit 66 off 23 balls before rain ruined the second match in the series to prove he is in big-hitting form. Martin Guptill will join him at the top of the order, having proved his own return to form with 63 in the final T20 against the West Indies. With the ball, Trent Boult took ten wickets in the three-match series against the West Indies last month - including a match-winning 7-34 in the second game.
Recent Form
New Zealand thrashed West Indies in all three forms in their most recent series, winning both test matches by huge margins before a 3-0 whitewash in the ODIs and a 2-0 series win in the T20s. It was the perfect response to their tour of India in October, during which they lost both the ODI and T20 series 2-1 - both having gone down to the final game.
NZ Predicted Playing 11
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Guptill, Munro, Worker, Taylor, Latham, Nicholls, Santner, Astle, Henry, Ferguson, Boult
Pakistan Team News & Playing 11
Team News
Injuries to Usman Khan (back), Junaid Khan (foot) and Imad Wasim (knee) mean three enforced changes for Pakistan, while opener Ahmed Shehzad has been dropped. Mohammad Amir is fit again, however, having missed the series against Sri Lanka in October, while Mohammad Nawaz and Aamer Yamin both return after long absences from Pakistan’s ODI line-up.
Key Players
Hasan Ali was Pakistan’s player-of-the-tournament in the October series against Sri Lanka, after picking up 14 wickets in the 5-0 win. Ali also impressed in the T20 series which followed, collecting six wickets. With the bat, Babar Azam scored 300 runs in the ODI series against the Sri Lankans, but it was Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman who impressed in Pakistan’s lone warm-up match in New Zealand – both openers retired out after hitting centuries in a 206-run opening partnership.
Recent Form
Pakistan proved they have carried some form over from their limited-overs success against Sri Lanka last time out by winning the warm up game against a New Zealand XI by 120 runs, inspired by Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman’s centuries. After winning the Champions Trophy in England in June, courtesy of their 180-run win against India in the final at The Oval, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka 5-0 in their ODI series and 3-0 in the T20 matches to bounce back from a 2-0 test-series defeat.
Pak Predicted Playing 11
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Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Rumman Raees
Team Form in Last Five Matches (most recent first)
New Zealand: W W W L L
Pakistan: W W W W W
New Zealand vs Pakistan Head to Head
Pakistan have not won an ODI match in New Zealand since a 3-2 series victory in 2011. Since then, they have toured New Zealand twice, losing both ODI matches in 2015 and suffering a 2-0 series defeat, with a third game washed out, in 2016. New Zealand also won the last time they faced Pakistan in the UAE. Pakistan's most recent ODI match in New Zealand saw the hosts win a rain-affected match by three wickets (D/L method) courtesy of Kane Williamson's 84 from 86 balls. Last time they met in Wellington, New Zealand posted 280/8 before bowling Pakistan out for 210.
New Zealand vs Pakistan 1st ODI Betting Odds
New Zealand are favourites to beat Pakistan in Wellington in the first ODI, with Bet365 offering 1.50 on the hosts and 2.62 for the tourists to win. Betfair are offering similar odds of 1.55 on a New Zealand win, and 2.60 for Pakistan to end their recent hoodoo in the country. In-form Colin Munro is 4.00 with Betfair to finish as New Zealand's top batsman – a good bet if he can carry his form from the recent T20 series with West Indies.
New Zealand vs Pakistan 1st ODI Prediction
While both sides are in good form in limited overs cricket, New Zealand have home advantage and will have been buoyed by their recent destruction of a poor West Indian side. Colin Munro, Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson form the spine of a deadly batting line-up, which even the in-form Hasan Ali might struggle to contain. Home advantage will be key at Wellington too, with the hosts better equipped to dealing with conditions if the wind whips up.
Final Verdict: Back New Zealand to beat Pakistan at 1.55 with 1xbet.
Jan 06, 2018
03:30 IST / 2:00 GMT
Basin Reserve - Wellington, New Zealand
NZ vs PAK ODI 
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