Who Will Win New Zealand vs Pakistan 1st T20?
After asserting their supremacy over Australia, Pakistan will look to extend their winning run when they take on New Zealand in the three-match T20 international series. The first T20I will be played on October 31 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Live telecast of the game is scheduled to start at 8 PM local time.
Pak vs NZ 1st T20: Where to Watch/Live Streaming
TV channels: Sony Six, Fox Sports, OSN Sports Cricket HD, SuperSport, Prime TV
Live Streaming: SonyLIV Bet365, OSN Play, Foxtel Sports
Toss Prediction
Out of the 30 T20 internationals played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, 18 (including three of the last four) have been won by the side bowling first. Since the pitch is expected to stay true throughout the course of the game, the toss-winning skipper will probably elect to field first.
Read on for team previews, betting odds, betting tips and match prediction for Pak vs NZ 1st T20...
Pakistan Team News & Playing 11
PAK Team News
Pakistan have named an unchanged squad from their previous T20I series against Australia. The hosts are coming off a terrific series win over the Aussies and they are likely to retain the same playing eleven from the last game, except that Fakhar Zaman would be brought back in place of Sahibzada Farhan to open the innings with Babar Azam.
PAK Key Players
Babar Azam smashed two half-centuries in the recent three-match T20I series against Australia to leapfrog Aaron Finch at the top of the ICC rankings. His opening partner Fakhar Zaman is ranked second and these two hold the key to Pakistan's batting. Mohammad Hafeez scored 111 runs in the series and the hosts will want him to continue his good form. Sarfraz Ahmed seems low on confidence at the moment and this puts more responsibility on the shoulders of Shoaib Malik to anchor the innings in the middle order. Shadab Khan is the world's second-best T20I bowler and he will pose the biggest threat to the visiting side. The leg-spinner topped the wickets charts against Australia and he will look to choke the Kiwis as well. Imad Wasim is another bowler who is expected to get plenty of support from this pitch while Hasan Ali is going to be Pakistan's best bet when it comes to pace bowling.
PAK Recent Form
Pakistan are enjoying their winning run in the shortest format of the game. They have now won 14 and lost just 2 out of the 16 T20 internationals they have played since the start of this year. The hosts whitewashed Australia 3-0 in the recently concluded three-match T20I series in the UAE - their tenth consecutive series win in the twenty-over format.
Pakistan Predicted Playing 11
Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Sarfraz Ahmed (c/wk), Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan
New Zealand Team News & Playing 11
NZ Team News
New Zealand have been dealt an injury setback ahead of the opening game of their UAE tour. Opening batsman Martin Guptill has strained his calf muscle and has therefore been ruled out of the entire tour. Mitchell Santer too has been left out as he is still recovering from his knee injury. The Kiwis have included in their 14-man T20I squad uncapped spinner Ajaz Patel, wicketkeeper-batsman Glenn Phillips and allrounder Corey Anderson who seems in line to don the international jersey after last representing his country in international cricket at the Champions Trophy last year. Phillips has been picked on account of his impressive performance in the recent T20 series against Pakistan A.
NZ Key Players
Colin Munro, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor are the big guns for New Zealand at the top while Colin de Grandhomme is their key man in the middle order. Munro is ranked fourth in the ICC T20I batting rankings and is having a strike-rate of around 164 in this format. Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson are both amongst the leading run-getters for their side in T20Is while de Grandhomme is known for his big-hitting toward the tail-end of the innings. Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi and Adam Milne will be the ones to watch out for with the ball. Southee is New Zealand's most successful bowler in the shortest format with 62 wickets in 51 matches and he together with Milne are expected to do the early damage. Sodhi is the third-best T20I bowler in the world and he is more likely to finish with the best figures in this match.
NZ Recent Form
New Zealand have not found much success in T20 internationals this year - they have lost six and won just three out of the nine matches played so far. The Trans-Tasman Twenty20 Tri-Series held in February that also involved Australia and England was their last T20I assignment. The Kiwis managed to reach the final of that series but could not win it as they lost to Australia by 19 runs (D/L method).
New Zealand Predicted Playing 11
Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Mark Chapman, Ross Taylor, Glenn Phillips, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Ajaz Patel/Lockie Ferguson
Oct 31, 2018
21:30 IST / 16:00 GMT
Sheikh Zayed Stadium - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
PAK vs NZ 
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