It's fair to say that things haven't gone according to plan for Pakistan on their current tour to New Zealand. While it is a rebuilding phase for the Asian outfit, there has not been much to get excited about from the opening two T20Is of the tour.
Bundled out for 91 in the first game they were marginally better in the second game where they managed 135 for nine from 15 overs.
In terms of run rate Pakistan have gone at little more than six per over from the first two games, while in turn New Zealand have managed to score at almost ten to the over. This clearly suggests that both the bowling and batting units are not working for the tourists while for the home side they are completely on song.
This is a five-match series which means Friday’s game in Auckland is a must win for Pakistan if they are to keep the series alive. New Zealand meanwhile stands to wrap the series up with two games still to play.
New Zealand vs Pakistan | Third T20I | Friday 21 March | Eden Park, Auckland | 03:15am
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
New Zealand don’t have a particularly good record in T20I at Eden Park. They have played 28 games at the venue and won just 10 of them – that’s just a 35%-win rate at the ground.
Expect the team that wins the toss to field first. The overwhelming trend at Eden Park amongst skippers winning the toss is to field – it has happened in 18 out of the 28 games played here (64% of games).
Curiously, winning the toss in Auckland does not very often translate into winning. Of the 28 games played here only eight have resulted in wins for the side that won the toss (28.5%).
Weather:
Friday looks like a good day in Auckland. The sun will be out, the wind will be mild and there is no rain forecast. Expect the game to go the distance.
Recent form (most recent game first):
New Zealand: W, W, L, W, W.
Pakistan: L, L, A, L, L.
Key players:
New Zealand: Tim Seifert
Opening the batting, Seifert is a man in form, with 89 runs from the two games thus far.
He banged a brisk 44 runs from 29 balls in the series opener before following it up with 45 from 22 in the second game.
He’s hitting the ball cleanly and seems completely untroubled by the Pakistan attack – in Dunedin seven of the first eight scoring shots of the innings were sixes.
He’s the highest scorer in the series thus far and hitting scores that are well above his overall T20I average, which is 26.03. Expect his form to continue.
Pakistan: Salman Agha
New skipper Salman Agha is not very experienced in T20Is, but he is a quality batsman.
Despite the sound hiding that was delivered to them on Tuesday, Agha was nevertheless the games’ top scorer, with 46 runs from 28 balls.
He just needed some of the other batsmen to rally around him. He has made starts in each of his last five outings across all formats with scores of 45, 42, 19, 18 and 46.
Expect him to lead from the front and be the man taking the fight to New Zealand once again.
Verdict: New Zealand
It is hard to see Pakistan winning this, they’ve been outgunned so far, and they are going to struggle to find a way back into the series.
Their best chance of a win right now is when the series is in the bag and perhaps the Black Cape relax a little.
New Zealand has the form, the momentum, the home ground advantage and, even though they’re missing some key players, they are still a vastly more experienced unit than Pakistan.
