T20 World Cup 2021, Pakistan vs New Zealand: Who will take the most wickets in today's match?

New Zealand square off against Pakistan in their first game of the T20 World Cup and the spotlight will be on the quality bowling attack both sides boast of.

While the Kiwis have a sorted pace trio and a spinner in Mitch Santner to stifle Pakistan, the latter have the in-form Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shadab Khan to put them through their paces.

Ahead of the all-important clash that will see the Kiwis aim to go 1-0 in their T20 World Cup campaign, we take a shot at predicting which bowlers will bag the most wickets.

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#1 Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan's T20 World Cup trump card

Only 21 and 6' 6", Shaheen Afridi is already Pakistan’s leading pacer with the uncanny knack of generating awkward bounce by taking advantage of his height. He dismantled India's openers in his first spell.

Rohit Sharma was castled in the first ball he faced in the T20 World Cup and KL Rahul was the victim of an unplayable pacy inswinger. He later followed it up with the wicket of Virat Kohli at the death.

Expect Afridi to make some early breakthroughs for Pakistan.

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#2 Trent Boult

Trent Boult and Tim Southee will be the one-two punch combo that can peg Pakistan back if they get going. The former, in particular, can trouble the side with his pace and swing. With the conditions conducive for him to generate the swing and get it to curve both ways, Boult will undoubtedly be a threat to Babar and his men.

Boult had figures of 2/13 against Australia in their warm-up game in the T20 World Cup and will look to continue his wicket-taking streak.

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#3 Tim Southee

Southee, who has the best figures of 5/18, currently has 99 wickets at an economy rate of 8.39 in T20Is. If he gets the one wicket that takes him to the three-figure mark, he will equal Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and former Sri Lanka quick Lasith Malinga.

Southee, with his subtle variations, could be a massive threat for Pakistan in the early phase of their T20 World Cup campaign.