Cricket Match Prediction | New Zealand vs Pakistan | 2nd ODI | APR 02 – Can NZ win the series with one match to spare?  

NZ vs PAK Match Analysis

New Zealand and Pakistan will play each other in the 2nd match of the 3-match ODI series, which will be played on April 2, 2025, at 04:00 AM BST at Seddon Park, Hamilton. 

New Zealand now heads to Hamilton, where they can secure the trophy with a game to spare. The series concludes on Friday in Mount Maunganui, and if PAK can’t turn things around on Tuesday, the outcome could be decided three days early!

Pakistan’s bowlers impressed in the Napier opening game despite Shaheen Shah Afridi’s absence, but the ten overs from Salman Agha and Irfan Khan proved costly, conceding 118 runs. The tourists must now find a more competitive option to fill the fifth bowler’s role.

NZ vs PAK Team Preview & Squads

New Zealand 

New Zealand has long been a formidable team at home across all formats, and they managed to recover from a tricky position in the last match. After slipping to 50/3, NZ fought back impressively to post 344/9.

Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, and Muhammad Abbas played crucial roles in stabilizing the innings and could be just as influential at four, five, and six if the top three—Will Young, Nick Kelly, and Henry Nicholls—struggle again early on.

Chapman enters this match on the back of a career-best 132 on Saturday, having also scored 94 in the third T20I, making him eager to take on Pakistan’s bowlers once more.

Meanwhile, Daryl Mitchell put himself in the IPL spotlight with a well-crafted 76 in Napier, while Nathan Smith (4/60) and Jacob Duffy (2/57) were the standout wicket-takers. Will O’Rourke (1/38) also played a key role, keeping things tight with his economical bowling.

New Zealand Squads

New Zealand Squads

Muhammad Abbas, Henry Nicholls, Adithya Ashok, Rhys Mariu, Will Young, Tom Latham, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Jacob Duffy, Mitchell Hay, Will O’Rourke, Daryl Mitchell, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Nick Kelly.

Pakistan

Pakistan may have suffered another defeat on their tour of New Zealand in Saturday’s opening ODI, but there were encouraging signs from their top five batters, who provided some hope.

However, the match highlighted the immense pressure on the top order, as Pakistan were cruising at 249/3 in the 39th over while chasing 345, only to suffer a dramatic collapse and be dismissed for 271.

Babar Azam was the first to fall in that collapse, but after top-scoring with 78 from 83 balls, he remains a key figure alongside Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, and Salman Agha, who will be crucial with the bat.

On the bowling front, Haris Rauf stood out with 2/38, while Irfan Khan enters this ODI as Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in the series so far.

Pakistan Squads

Pakistan Squads

Mohammad Wasim, Irfan Khan, Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Ali, Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Rizwan, Akif Javed, Abrar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, and Sufiyan Muqeem. 

New Zealand vs Pakistan outfield report 

Seddon Park, Hamilton

The team batting first has won three of the last four ODIs played at Seddon Park in Hamilton. As a result, we forecast that both teams would prefer to bat first before the match.

The prediction indicates that during the day, there will be both sunny and cloudy patches. 

The final match played in this format back in January featured scores of 255/9 against 142 all out, and Seddon Park is a fantastic place to play ODI cricket.

New Zealand vs Pakistan Head-to-Head Stats of Last 5 Matches 

In their last 5 matches, NZ won 4 and PAK won 1. 

New Zealand vs Pakistan Prediction 

Cricket analysts predict that New Zealand has a 60% chance of winning.

Disclaimer: This cricket prediction is based on the author’s insights and analysis. Readers should consider the points discussed and draw their own conclusions.