Pakistan vs New Zealand: Champions Trophy Preview, Game 1
The latest ICC tournament has arrived, and the hosts Pakistan will kick the Champions Trophy action off when they entertain New Zealand in Karachi on Wednesday.
Both sides have been involved in the Tri-Nation series, alongside South Africa, ahead of the 19-day tournament, with New Zealand victorious in all three of their matches, including the final against the hosts. Notably, the chasing side were victorious in three of the four games, a common theme in sub-continent conditions.
Pakistan are the defending champions from when the tournament was last hosted in England and Wales in 2017, and their fans will be expecting a repeat display.
However, they will be part of a rare occurrence of the hosts playing away from home when Mohammad Rizwan’s team re-ignite their rivalry with India.
New Zealand will travel to Dubai in the final round of group games. Before then, though, the Black Caps will be entering an ICC tournament without Trent Boult or Tim Southee to call upon, although if recent matches are anything to go by, you can expect little to have changed.
Squad News
Pakistan
There is a lot of expectation placed at the doors of Pakistan cricketers whenever an ICC tournament is in town, and on this occasion, Rizwan will be shouldering the burden of his players. The wait for a trophy since the 2017 success will be viewed as too long by many, and there are not many better ways to end that than winning on home soil.
While Pakistan stumbled against New Zealand recently, their run chase of 353 against South Africa, which was led by Rizwan (122*) and Salman Agha (134), demonstrated the capabilities of a side that has inexperience running through several areas and ex-captain Babar Azam moved up to open in a search for consistent run-making.
Tayyab Tahir and Abrar Ahmed have a combined 13 One-Day International appearances, but they are both expected to play in the tournament’s opener in key areas.
Tahir will be tasked with finishing their batting innings with a flurry and his strike rate of 125.24 shows why. Meanwhile, Ahmed will be leading the team’s spin attack with long-term option Shadab Khan, who is no longer preferred by selectors.
Pakistan do have one major headache ahead of Wednesday. Haris Rauf pulled up after 6.2 overs in the first Tri-Nation match against New Zealand, but he is back in light training. The right-arm pace bowler is integral to this Pakistan side with 83 wickets in his 46 ODIs to date. In his place, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah will be expected to step up if Rauf cannot perform to his best.
New Zealand
The Black Caps have become a regular contender in ICC tournaments over the last decade, particularly in 50-over cricket. While they have fallen at the first hurdle in the last two editions of the Champions Trophy, New Zealand have made the semi-finals of every Cricket World Cup since 2007. Bar the most recent T20 World Cup, they have reached the semi-finals of every 20 and 50-over World Cup since 2015.
Many familiar faces from those campaigns will be in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates over the coming weeks too. Kane Williamson and Glenn Phillips both registered unbeaten centuries in the recent Tri-Nation series, Devon Conway made a high score of 97 and Daryl Mitchell 81. That’s without mentioning Tom Latham, who has made 32 50+ scores in one-day cricket.
In the bowling department, a new and exciting crop of seamers have emerged in light of Boult and Southee’s absences. Matt Henry has long been perceived as an underrated force in the cricketing world while Will O’Rourke, Nathan Smith and Lockie Ferguson offer captain Mitchell Santner variety and potency in various phases of the innings. However, Ben Sears was forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury.
Santner himself will play a big role with both bat and ball in the coming weeks in his first major tournament as captain. The all-rounder is joined by Michael Bracewell and Rachin Ravindra in the spin-bowling group. Bracewell and Santner had economies of 4.10 or under in the recent Tri-Nation series, which could prove vital on pace-friendly surfaces.
Predicted Line-Ups
Pakistan
Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
New Zealand
Will Young, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke.
Key Players
Pakistan – Fakhar Zaman
The 34-year-old has established himself at the top of Pakistan’s batting line-up since his debut in 2017.
He demonstrated his destructive force just weeks later in the 2017 Champions Trophy Final against India where the left-hander made a brutal 114 off 106 balls. A knock that took the game away from India and won Pakistan their first silverware since 2009.
That was back during the fledging days of his ODI career that now boasts 3627 runs at an average of 46.50 and 11 hundreds. He has the knack of taking games away from the opposition at the start of an innings, and in tournament cricket, it is crucial to get your nose in front, especially when two losses will likely spell the end of your journey.
New Zealand – Mitchell Santner
On the surface, Santner is your archetypal left-arm spinner who can bat, but the 30-year-old has evolved and built a hugely successful international career as a revered all-rounder.
His 113 ODI caps have garnered 117 wickets with an economy of 4.82 and 1400 runs, predominantly batting at number eight. That’s where he will bat this tournament, and his three half-centuries and 90.79 strike rate are ideal attributes.
With the ball in hand, he possesses a lot of guile, loves to outfox a batter and offers a great deal of control throughout the middle of an innings, which in Pakistan – the average score in the recent Tri-Nation series was 298 – is fantastic to have in your armoury.
Match Details
Where is the game being played?
The match is being played at the recently revamped National Stadium in Karachi,
What time is kick-off?
The game starts at 9:00 am GMT on Wednesday.
How can I watch?
The game is available to watch in the UK on Sky Sports.
Both sides have been involved in the Tri-Nation series, alongside South Africa, ahead of the 19-day tournament, with New Zealand victorious in all three of their matches, including the final against the hosts. Notably, the chasing side were victorious in three of the four games, a common theme in sub-continent conditions.
Pakistan are the defending champions from when the tournament was last hosted in England and Wales in 2017, and their fans will be expecting a repeat display.
However, they will be part of a rare occurrence of the hosts playing away from home when Mohammad Rizwan’s team re-ignite their rivalry with India.
New Zealand will travel to Dubai in the final round of group games. Before then, though, the Black Caps will be entering an ICC tournament without Trent Boult or Tim Southee to call upon, although if recent matches are anything to go by, you can expect little to have changed.
Squad News
Pakistan
There is a lot of expectation placed at the doors of Pakistan cricketers whenever an ICC tournament is in town, and on this occasion, Rizwan will be shouldering the burden of his players. The wait for a trophy since the 2017 success will be viewed as too long by many, and there are not many better ways to end that than winning on home soil.
While Pakistan stumbled against New Zealand recently, their run chase of 353 against South Africa, which was led by Rizwan (122*) and Salman Agha (134), demonstrated the capabilities of a side that has inexperience running through several areas and ex-captain Babar Azam moved up to open in a search for consistent run-making.
Tayyab Tahir and Abrar Ahmed have a combined 13 One-Day International appearances, but they are both expected to play in the tournament’s opener in key areas.
Tahir will be tasked with finishing their batting innings with a flurry and his strike rate of 125.24 shows why. Meanwhile, Ahmed will be leading the team’s spin attack with long-term option Shadab Khan, who is no longer preferred by selectors.
Pakistan do have one major headache ahead of Wednesday. Haris Rauf pulled up after 6.2 overs in the first Tri-Nation match against New Zealand, but he is back in light training. The right-arm pace bowler is integral to this Pakistan side with 83 wickets in his 46 ODIs to date. In his place, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah will be expected to step up if Rauf cannot perform to his best.
New Zealand
The Black Caps have become a regular contender in ICC tournaments over the last decade, particularly in 50-over cricket. While they have fallen at the first hurdle in the last two editions of the Champions Trophy, New Zealand have made the semi-finals of every Cricket World Cup since 2007. Bar the most recent T20 World Cup, they have reached the semi-finals of every 20 and 50-over World Cup since 2015.
Many familiar faces from those campaigns will be in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates over the coming weeks too. Kane Williamson and Glenn Phillips both registered unbeaten centuries in the recent Tri-Nation series, Devon Conway made a high score of 97 and Daryl Mitchell 81. That’s without mentioning Tom Latham, who has made 32 50+ scores in one-day cricket.
In the bowling department, a new and exciting crop of seamers have emerged in light of Boult and Southee’s absences. Matt Henry has long been perceived as an underrated force in the cricketing world while Will O’Rourke, Nathan Smith and Lockie Ferguson offer captain Mitchell Santner variety and potency in various phases of the innings. However, Ben Sears was forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury.
Santner himself will play a big role with both bat and ball in the coming weeks in his first major tournament as captain. The all-rounder is joined by Michael Bracewell and Rachin Ravindra in the spin-bowling group. Bracewell and Santner had economies of 4.10 or under in the recent Tri-Nation series, which could prove vital on pace-friendly surfaces.
Predicted Line-Ups
Pakistan
Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
New Zealand
Will Young, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke.
Key Players
Pakistan – Fakhar Zaman
The 34-year-old has established himself at the top of Pakistan’s batting line-up since his debut in 2017.
He demonstrated his destructive force just weeks later in the 2017 Champions Trophy Final against India where the left-hander made a brutal 114 off 106 balls. A knock that took the game away from India and won Pakistan their first silverware since 2009.
That was back during the fledging days of his ODI career that now boasts 3627 runs at an average of 46.50 and 11 hundreds. He has the knack of taking games away from the opposition at the start of an innings, and in tournament cricket, it is crucial to get your nose in front, especially when two losses will likely spell the end of your journey.
New Zealand – Mitchell Santner
On the surface, Santner is your archetypal left-arm spinner who can bat, but the 30-year-old has evolved and built a hugely successful international career as a revered all-rounder.
His 113 ODI caps have garnered 117 wickets with an economy of 4.82 and 1400 runs, predominantly batting at number eight. That’s where he will bat this tournament, and his three half-centuries and 90.79 strike rate are ideal attributes.
With the ball in hand, he possesses a lot of guile, loves to outfox a batter and offers a great deal of control throughout the middle of an innings, which in Pakistan – the average score in the recent Tri-Nation series was 298 – is fantastic to have in your armoury.
Match Details
Where is the game being played?
The match is being played at the recently revamped National Stadium in Karachi,
What time is kick-off?
The game starts at 9:00 am GMT on Wednesday.
How can I watch?
The game is available to watch in the UK on Sky Sports.
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