RAWALPINDI: Pakistan will take on New Zealand today on Friday in the first One-Day International (ODI) match at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.
The occasion will see the tourists play their first match on Pakistani soil since 2003. The match will start at 02:30PM local time.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam, in his pre-series media conference held online, said: “Finally, the day has arrived and our entire camp is very excited to play New Zealand at home. We have practiced hard for this series and I am sure we will take full advantage of our home conditions.”
“We have a balanced squad and I remain optimistic about our chances in what promises to be an exciting series. I am sure fans at the stadium and millions watching us on screens will enjoy these matches.”
New Zealand captain Tom Latham: “We know it is special for Pakistan to have cricket in their country and we are excited to be here. Pakistan are a quality side and they have some talented white-ball players in their line-up.”
“We have desired fire-power in our ranks to win this series and I am sure our batters and bowlers will rise to the occasion and make this historic series memorable for us.”
The second and third matches will be played on 19 and 21 September at the same venue after which the two sides will travel to Lahore for five T20Is between 25 September to 3 October.
This will be the fourth time the two sides will meet at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in an ODI with Pakistan enjoying a 3-0 advantage. Prior to this match, Pakistan and New Zealand have met 19 times in an ODI in Pakistan between 1976 and 2003 with Pakistan winning 16 times.
Pakistan and New Zealand last met in an international 50-over competition during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 when Babar Azam’s glorious century anchored his side to a fabulous six-wicket win at Birmingham.
The series provides an opportunity to sixth-ranked Pakistan to climb a spot in the ICC Rankings. If the hosts beat the tourists by a 3-0 scoreline, they would jump to fifth position, however, any other result will see both sides retain their pre-series rankings.
New Zealand, the top-ranked ODI team in the ICC Rankings and the finalists of the 2019 World Cup, come into this series with a 3-0 sweep over Bangladesh in the three-match ODI series at home in March and will be eager to extend their winning streak.
Pakistan’s last outing in the format at this venue was in October-November 2020, when they defeated Zimbabwe 2-1, while in their last ODI series, they defeated South Africa by 2-1.
Tentative Squad:
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (capt), Saud Shakil, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Usman Qadir, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi.
New Zealand: Rachin Ravindra, Finn Allen, Will Young, Tom Latham (c&wk), Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Cole McConchie, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ajaz Patel, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry.
