New Zealand vs Pakistan, Pakistan tour of New Zealand, 2020-21, Today Match Prediction 20 Dec 2020

nz vs pak Match Prediction & Analysis

New Zealand team won the opening match of the T20I series comfortably by 5 wickets despite missing a lot of its regular players. New Zealand team is expected to play a full strength squad in the next 2 T20I matches. They will look to continue their winning streak in the home summer in this series too.  Pakistan will need to win this match to keep the series alive. They miss the services of Babar Azam in the top order and it was very evident in the first match. Pakistan need to put on spirited performance to beat the Kiwis in their backyard.

TEAMS PREVIEW

New Zealand Preview

Tim Seifert led the Kiwis batting charge with his fifty after the early wickets of Martin Guptill and Devon Conway. Glenn Philips (23 runs) and Mark Chapman (34 runs) played crucial cameos to build partnerships in the middle overs. Mitchell Santner (12* runs) and James Neesham (18* runs) finished the innings with ease in the final overs. Kane Williamson’s availability is not yet confirmed for the match.

Debutant Jacob Duffy and Scott Kuggleijn wreaked havoc against the Pakistani top order reducing them to 20/4 and they eventually shared 7 wickets between them in the match. Mitchell Santner bowled an economical spell of 4-0-18-0. Pacers Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Kyle Jamieson are expected to come into the playing XI in this match.

Top players to bet on:

Tim Seifert – Tim Seifert scored 57 runs off 43 balls and shared vital partnerships with Mark Chapman and Glenn Philips in the last game. We expect him to continue his good form in this match too.

Kyle Jamieson – Jamieson is in red hot form recently with his all-round performances. Last time he played a T20I match, he had match figures of 4-0-15-2 in a high scoring encounter.

New Zealand Predicted Playing XI:

Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert, Glenn Philips, Devon Conway, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, Scott Kuggleijn

New Zealand Actual Playing XI:

Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert, KS Williamson, Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ish Sodhi, James Neesham, TG Southee, Kyle Jamieson

Pakistan Preview

Pakistan batting unit was brutally attacked with Kiwi pacers claiming 4 wickets inside the power play. But, they made a superb comeback from 20/4 to finish with 153/9 in the 20 overs. Skipper Shadab Khan (46 runs) and Fahreem Ashraf (31 runs) lead their team`s fightback with the bat.

Pakistani pacers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf returned the favor to Kiwis by picking up 2 quick wickets and ending with combined match figures of 8-0-56-5.  Imad Wasim and Fahreem Ashraf bowled economically giving runs at just 6 RPO. Wahab Riaz and Shadab Khan went for runs over 11 RPO and failed to maintain the pressure created by other bowlers.

Top players to bet on:

Shadab Khan – Shadab Khan lifted his team from 20/4 to a good score of 150+ with his 42 runs off 32 balls with 2 boundaries and 3 sixes. He did not have a good game with the ball in hand with figures of 2-0-22-0.

Haris Rauf – Rauf was the pick of the bowlers with his career best figures of 3/29. He will look to continue his purple patch with the ball in this match too.

Pakistan Predicted Playing XI:

Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Abdullah Shafique, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan (c), Khushdil Shah, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammed Hasnain, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf

Pakistan Actual Playing XI:

Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, SI Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan, Wahab Riaz, Haris Rauf, Haider Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Khushdil Shah

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Hamilton has a slight circumspect weather with 50% chances of rain on the match day. We expect a dark and cloudy conditions during the game.

Venue Details

Seddon Park has a good balance between the bat and ball. We can expect scores around 160-180 runs at this venue.  Last t20I match at this venue ended in a draw with both teams ending with 179 runs in their 20 overs (NZ vs IND).

Toss: To Bowl

The pitch is expected to stay the same throughout the match and no target is safe nowadays in T20 matches. We expect both captains to chase the total at this venue.