1. Background:
With the First T20 washed out Pakistan gears itself under the new captaincy of Babar Azam against a depleted New Zealand side. After a lot of off field drama Pakistan finally decided to give the captaincy back to Babar Azam. Shaheen Afridi’s captaincy lasted just for one series and how much a demotion will have an effect on his performance is yet to be seen.
Pakistan has now a new coaching staff with Azhar Mahmood taking over from Mohammad Hafeez and it would be interesting how the new management goes about it affairs. For the starters it would be difficult to manage 3 keeper batsmen within the team in form of Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub and Usman Khan. All the three trying to get a slot up the order. In all likelihood Saim will open with Babar and that means Rizwan will step further down the order. Pakistan has also brought back two old warhorses in form of Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim who have called off their respective retirements, something which is not uncommon in Pakistan.
New Zealand is fielding a depleted side but that does not mean they will not show up. It was the same story last year when New Zealand walked away with a respectable 2-2 against Pakistan. So write off New Zealand at your own peril. But this time New Zealand is walking out without at least 9 of its regular players including Latham, Finn Allen, Williamson, Henry, Boult, Ferguson, Glenn Phillips, Milne and Santner.
2. Ground & Pitch:
Rawalpindi ground is known for it’s small boundaries and massive scores. If PSL is any indication expect the pitch to be filled with runs. However even in PSL the scores this time were not as high as last year. A total of 6 T20s have been played here and Pakistan has one 3 of them all being against Zimbabwe. All the matches have been won by side batting second which tells you that teams will want to bat second at Pindi.
Small ground and dimensions can get New Zealand in the game but a better bowling attack of Pakistan should help them come up ace.
3. Players To Watch For Pakistan:
Usman Khan lit the PSL earlier this year batting up the order for Multan Sultans. What a story it has been for this lad to switch from UAE to come back in Pakistan. Usman is an exciting talent and would be interesting to see how it goes.
After a poor start to the PSL Saim Ayub came back in form towards the back end of the PSL. Pakistan is hoping they have found a talent in him at top of the order after their regular struggles with Fakhar Zaman and a low strike rate of Rizwan. Big responsibility on this young kid and would be interesting to see if he is in the mix for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Shaheen Shah Afridi has a lot to prove. He has been off the boil off late and even in PSL he was more prominent for his batting rather than the bowling. An indifferent PSL and a recent sacking by PCB puts a lot of spotlight on him. He has more than a point to prove.
4. Players To Watch For New Zealand
Tim Robinson who finally made the debut in the washed out game but was out cheaply by Shaheen Shah Afridi will be interesting to watch. At 145 strike rate he has all the credentials for a good top order bat. He has had an impressive Super Smash start so will be interesting to see how he goes.
Michael Bracewell the captain of New Zealand will have to have a good series. For a batting all rounder the Strike rate of around 135 isn’t that appealing but he has the habit of bailing out New Zealand from crunch situations.
Jimmy Neesham is a terrific All rounder and it is surprising to see he not being part of the IPL. At 157 strike rate in the middle order he can do some damage. A lot will depend on Jimmy if NZ has to do well.
5. Betting Tips:
Run Lines were not open at the time of writing the post, however 10 over lines were hovering around 82.5 for Pakistan and 76.5 for New Zealand. If you really want to have a pre-match bet then Pakistan over 82.5 after 10 at 1.8 is a decent bet and probably the only bet at this stage that i would recommend.
If Pakistan bat’s first expect the lines to open at 190+ and I would not mind taking that. Rawalpindi pitch has been a belter and if Pakistan bats first expect them to score 195-215 range.
Match Bet. At sportsbooks Pakistan is at 1.2 and for the right reasons. But at those odds i might give it a miss unless you double this bet with some other bet. Pakistan will win but I don’t recommend anyone betting at such low odds. If you have access to exchange , you can get Pakistan at 1.35 and that is still a better option. As i said it would be a shock defeat if Pakistan does not manage to pull this off. Pak to win.