Confident Kiwis face Resurgent Pakistan

Venue – Pallekele cricket stadium, Kandy

Time- 15:30(IST)

Pakistan kick off their T20 World Cup campaign against a confident and in form New Zealand. Boosted by a clinical performance against the Bangladeshis, New Zealand would be keen to prove their mettle against a better opposition. Pakistan have always performed well at high profile tournaments thanks to their spin attack. Tough to beat in sub-continent conditions, Pakistan will be looking to get off to a winning start against the Kiwis, who have always been susceptible to spin.

The Kiwis would have taken a lot of positives from their first outing against Bangladesh. McCullum scoring a blistering 123 would be one, but the one that would interest them the most was that the Pallekele pitch did not assist the spinners much. The ball was coming onto the bat and runs were easy to come by, something New Zealand thrives on. Pakistan have no need to panic though as their spinners are better off than Bangladesh’s. Saeed Ajmal would hold the key in the bowling department. Batting on the other hand has always been a problem for Pakistan, but with Kamran Akmal, Mohammed Hafeez and Umar Akmal in decent form, they should be able to walk past the Kiwis.

New Zealand bowled well in the previous match with Tim Southee and Kyle Mills doing the damage. Franklin played the sheet anchor’s role to perfection, giving the strike back to McCullum when he was firing on all cylinders. Guptill needs to convert his starts into big scores. Ross Taylor could be destructive provided he gets some time in the middle. Daniel Vettori and Nathan McCullum would come in handy if the pitch behaves differently on Sunday. Vettori with his experience should be the go-to man for Ross Taylor if the Pakistanis plan a middle-over onslaught. Pakistan’s major worry however remains their inconsistent batting. Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal have not been in the best of form.

It should be a mouth-watering contest between the solid Kiwis and the resurgent Pakistanis. New Zealand’s strength lies in their batting and power hitting, whereas Pakistan take huge pride in their bowling attack. Saeed Ajmal vs McCullum will be a treat to watch.

Players to watch out for

New Zealand

Brendon McCullum

Fresh from a T20 hundred and a match-winning performance, McCullum would be the most discussed player in the Pakistan camp. His sublime hitting against Bangladesh just took the game away from them. Now he just needs to focus on the basics and aim for consistency. Spending time on the crease would be the key, and if he can just manoeuvre the ball against the likes of Ajmal and Umar Gul and target the lesser bowlers, New Zealand might just have the upper hand.

Martin Guptill

A technically correct player, Guptill was in the form of his life at the start of the year, scoring at will. Having failed to convert his starts off late, he has on occasion gifted away his wicket. With the ability to rotate strike and also use the long handle, he is the perfect batsman to have at the top of the order. With McCullum already firing, his return to form could mean curtains for Pakistan.

Tim Southee

The spearhead of the pace attack is in top gear. Outstanding figures(3 for 16 in 4 overs) in the match against Bangladesh helped his team register a huge win. His pace, accuracy and variations leave batsmen bamboozled. New Zealand would be counting on him to make early inroads into the Pakistan batting line up.

Pakistan

Saeed Ajmal

The man who tops the list for bowlers in the ICC T20 rankings has to be one of the players to watch out for. He has it all, the off spinner, the top spinner, the doosra, the quicker delivery. His variations in pace and length are immaculate and are bound to trouble even the best in the business. He is a world class spinner and the Kiwis would find it very difficult to deal with his brilliance. I think the only tactic that the Kiwis would use against him is to play him out and not give him a wicket.

Mohammad Hafeez

Good all-rounders are tough to find, and he is one of the finest, opening the batting and providing four quality overs of spin. He hasn’t been among the runs lately and is due a big one. Pakistan would hope that the big one is just round the corner. His off breaks and top spinners would come in very handy in the middle overs. Should the Kiwis post a huge total, Hafeez is the man who could provide a solid start for the run chase.

Umar Akmal

With his superlative hitting skills, Akmal has caught the imagination of many. He can bat at any position and is one of the best finishers of the game. He is known to bail his team out of the jaws of defeat by scoring a quick fire 30 or 40 in half the number of balls. Pakistan would dearly want him to fire against the Kiwis and if he does the result will surely be in Pakistan’s favour.

Head to head

Pakistan lead the head to head 5-3.

Prediction

It promises to be a mouth watering encounter. Pakistan’s bowling vs New Zealand’s batting should be the key encounter. The Pakistan team would enjoy home like conditions and thus should prevail against the Kiwis. The match will be a close fought win, with Pakistan winning it in the penultimate over.