On Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the host New Zealand will play Pakistan in the fifth Twenty20 International of the five-match series.
With four straight victories under their belt, New Zealand will go into the dead rubber hoping to finish out Pakistan. In this series finale against Pakistan, interim captain Mitchell Santner will be looking to his team to carry on winning ways after another flawless performance on Friday at the Hagley Oval.
Pakistan will be lacking confidence going into their meeting on Sunday after dropping their last four games. The paucity of runs from players like Iftikhar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, and Saim Ayub will worry the management.
In the series, the home team had an unstoppable 4-0 advantage. They triumphed by 46 runs in the first game, 21 runs in the second, 45 runs, and seven wickets in the third and fourth.
NZ vs PAK Team Preview & Squads
New Zealand
For this game, the host team may make two changes to their starting lineup: Chad Bowes and Ben Sears will take the places of Will Young and Tim Southee.
To put up a respectable score in the batting department, the Black Caps will mostly rely on players like young, hard-hitting all-rounders Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell, explosive opener Finn Allen, and wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert.
In the last game, low scores meant that Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, and Will Young died, leaving New Zealand in a vulnerable position.
In terms of bowling, it will be up to Mitchell Santner, the left-arm spinner, and the speed trio of Ben Sears, Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson, and Matt Henry to claim crucial breakthroughs.
Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson both bowled well in the previous game, taking two wickets apiece.
New Zealand Squads
New Zealand Squads
Mitchell Santner (c), Tim Seifert (wk), Will Young/ Chad Bowes, Glenn Phillips, Adam Milne, Mark Chapman, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Tim Southee/Ben Sears, Finn Allen, Lockie Ferguson
Pakistan
In this meaningless match, the coaching staff will be hoping that the players pick up on their mistakes and put on a great performance. For the fifth and final match of the T20I series, the Green Shirts may make changes to their starting lineup.
Pakistan’s batting lineup, which includes Fakhar Zaman, opener Saim Ayub, experienced keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, and Iftikhar Ahmed, will be crucial in helping the squad to a decent score.
To keep the host team to a reasonable score, the Islanders will rely on their bowling attack, which includes Mohammad Nawaz’s spin and the pace quartet of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr., and Zaman Khan.
Shaheen Afridi was Pakistan’s best bowler in the previous game, taking 3 for 34 in his four overs.
Pakistan Squads
Pakistan Squads
Shaheen Afridi (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Nawaz, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub, Zaman Khan
Match Details
Match
New Zealand vs Pakistan, 5th T20I | Pakistan tour of New Zealand, 2024
Gaining the toss, bowling first, and keeping the opponent to less than 165 runs will be goals shared by both teams. The team batting second prevailed in the preceding game held at Hagley Oval.
The match on Sunday is expected to be accompanied by rain and strong gusts.
The wicket that has been set up for the match will undoubtedly help the seamers with the new ball.
NZ vs PAK Head-to-Head Stats of Last 5 Matches
In the last five games, New Zealand has won all the matches.
According to cricket analysts, New Zealand has a 51% chance of winning.
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