New Zealand are favourites to win
After a 0-3 drubbing at the hands of India, New Zealand will look to make amends as they take on Pakistan in a two-match test series at home. The first test will be played between 17th and 21st November at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch. Live action is scheduled to start at 10:30 AM local time.
Read on for our betting tips, betting odds and match prediction for New Zealand vs Pakistan first test....
Hagley Oval has seen two test matches so far with 441 and 370 being the respective scores in the first innings. The wicket has been batting-friendly and is likely to remain the same for this match as well. There could be a toss bias at this ground as both the matches have been won by the side batting second. So the toss-winning team may prefer to put the opposition into batting first.
The Kiwi bowlers should make better use of these conditions and therefore betting on the hosts will be a smart move if Pakistan are batting first.
Predicted Score: Around 370
Tom Latham is set to find a new opening partner in uncapped Jeet Raval as Martin Guptill has been left out owing to poor form in test cricket. New Zealand will have their hopes pinned on Latham, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor and BJ Watling to take them close to 400. Williamson is the second highest run-getter at this ground after McCullum and he will be the key in their batting.
New Zealand will be facing Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir first up. The former took 10 wickets in the test series against the West Indies in the UAE and he will be backed by Pakistan to go for the early breakthroughs. Yasir Shah will be partnered by Mohammad Nawaz to carry out the spin attack. Yasir will be the trump card for the tourists and he will be relied upon the most to restrict the hosts to below 350.
Predicted Score: Around 250
Pakistan will be depending on two of their most experienced batters in Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq in these foreign conditions. These two will have to get the big scores and the likes of Azhar Ali and Sami Aslam will have to bat around them if they are to reach the 300-mark. Ali scored the most runs against the West Indies recently and we predict him to make a valuable contribution in this match.
The Pakistani batsmen will need to be extremely watchful, especially in the morning sessions, against the three Kiwi quicks - Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner. The trio will be threatening in these swinging conditions and the tourists could be left staggering if they don't play the new ball well. Boult is the leading wicket-taker for New Zealand at this ground and we expect him to be their best bowler.
New Zealand start as overwhelming favorites to win this match even though they are placed seventh in the ICC Test Rankings while Pakistan are second. They are 2.24 with 1xbet and 2.15 with bet365. Pakistan are 4.6 and 4.33 respectively. Betting on a draw should be the second best option at 2.9 with betfair and 2.75 with bet365.
New Zealand received a pounding in the three-match test series in India lately while Pakistan are coming off a 2-2 draw in England and a 2-1 win in the UAE against the West Indies. So the latter should have the momentum with them. But the Kiwis will be tough to beat at home and the visitors will have to put up a good batting display in swinging and seaming conditions - conditions they are not often comfortable with.
Pakistan have never played a test match at the Hagley Oval while New Zealand have played two, winning the first and losing the second. Although a little bit of rain has been forecasted, we don't expect too much time to be lost and considering both the previous games here have produced results despite the pitch being good for batting, chances for a draw are there but not much.
New Zealand will be looking for some wins in this format and improve their test rankings, and playing at home makes us confident enough in predicting them to win this first test.
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