New Zealand vs Pakistan, Pakistan tour of New Zealand, 2020-21, Today Match Prediction 03 Jan 2021

nz vs pak Match Prediction & Analysis

New Zealand raised to No. 1 ranking in the ICC Test rankings for the first time in their cricketing history and finished 2020 with 5 wins in their 5 matches.  Kiwis are a dominant force in their home yard in the Test cricket and teams are finding it almost impossible to breach their fort. Pakistan team stretched the Kiwis to the brink as they almost saved the test with less than 5 overs only remaining when their last wicket fell. Pakistan will be delighted with the return of Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, and Imam-Ul-Haq back into the squad for this test match. Pakistan will look to win this match and level the series 1-1 against Kiwis which will be a big achievement for them in foreign soil.

TEAMS PREVIEW

New Zealand Preview

Kane Williamson lead the batting unit from front scoring yet another century and sharing 100+ partnership with Ross Taylor (70 runs) and Henry Nicholls (56 runs). BJ Watling (73 runs) took their team total to 431 runs in the first innings. Openers Tom Blundell (64 runs) and Tom Latham (53 runs) took the attack to opposition to build in the second innings on their massive 192-run partnership.

Kiwis bowlers were right on money in both the innings as all the bowlers registered themselves in the wickets column.  Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Kylie Jamieson, and Trent Boult took at least 2 wickets in each innings in the last game. Neil Wagner bowled his heart out with long 11 to 13 over spells despite a fractured toe which amazed everyone. Santner picked up the last 2 wickets of the Pakistan in second innings to finish the game.

Top players to bet on:

Kane Williamson – Williamson has scores of 251, 129 & 21 in his last three innings and he will look to continue his domination with the bat in this match too. He is a class batsmen who can tak on any bowling attack in the world.

Kyle Jamieson – Jamieson showcased his all-round skills once again with 5 wickets and a crucial 32 runs in the last game. He produced wickets at crucial junctures of the match for the NZ.   

New Zealand Predicted Playing XI:

Tom Latham, Tom Blundell, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling (wk), Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner/Daryl Mitchell, Trent Boult

New Zealand Actual Playing XI:

Trent Boult, Daryl Mitchell, Matt Henry, Henry Nicholls, KS Williamson, Ross Taylor, Tom Blundell, BJ Watling, Tom Latham, TG Southee, Kyle Jamieson

Pakistan Preview

Pakistan scored 239 & 271 runs in the two innings in the last game. Their top order crumbled to 80/6 & 75/4 in both innings. Skipper Mohammed Rizwan (71 & 60 runs) shared a 100+ run partnership with Fahreen Ashraf (91 runs) & Fawad Alam (102 runs) to take their team to a respectable total in the first and second innings respectively.

Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped 4 wickets and threatened the batsmen consistently in the match. Yasir Shah and Mohammed Abbas chipped with 3-wicket hauls in the first and second innings respectively. Their bowlers failed to put pressure on Kiwi batsmen consistently in both the innings

Top players to bet on:

Mohammed Rizwan – Rizwann has touched the right node with his batting scoring three back-to-back fifties in his last three innings (79, 71, & 60). He will look to end the tour on a high with yet another good performance.

Shaheen Afridi – Afridi rocked the Kiwi top order in the first innings to dismiss the openers very early and broke the partnership between Taylor & Williamson. He had match figures of 4/109 & 0/47 in the match.

Pakistan Predicted Playing XI:

Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shan Maqsood, Abid Ali, Fawad Alam, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (C), Yasir Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammed Abbas

Pakistan Actual Playing XI:

Fawad Alam, Zafar Gohar, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Haris Sohail, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Christchurch has a bright and sunny weather for the first 4 days of the match and we can expect cloudy and overcast conditions on the last day of the match. We don’t expect weather interruptions to play a big part in this match.

Venue Details

Hagley Oval is a bowler friendly pitch with a lot of swing on offer. The highest innings score was 242 runs in the last test played here. Pacers claimed 30 off the 33 wickets to fall with Kiwi pacers claiming 19 wickets.  

Toss: To Bowl

The pitch is expected to swing and seam around for the pace bowlers. Both teams will look to put the opposition to bat to use the early moisture content on the pitch.