New Zealand VS Pakistan, 1st T20I – Fantasy XI Cricket Tips, Prediction & Probable XI

image for cricket new zealand vs pakistan cricket match (New Zealand vs Pakistan)

Pakistan will face New Zealand in the first T20I of the series on Friday at Eden Park Cricket Stadium, Auckland. 

1st T20I, New Zealand VS Pakistan: Match Details

• Date – December 18, 2020
• Time – 11:30 AM IST
• Venue – Eden Park, Auckland 

New Zealand VS Pakistan Match Preview:

New Zealand will be high in confidence after clean sweeping Windies earlier this month in the T20s. Glenn Philipps looked in great form and will be hoping to continue his run in the series as well. Devon Conway, too, impressed everyone with his powerful hitting against Windies. 

Mitchell Santner will be a key player, along with James Neesham, who can play the finisher's role well. Kiwis look a bit inexperienced in the bowling department. They will bank on Scott Kuggeleijn and Ish Sodhi to deliver well. 

Pakistan squad will be without their captain Babar Azam, however, the addition of Mohammad Hafeez and Sarfaraz Ahmed has added experience in the batting lineup. 

Shaheen Afridi has been in great touch with the ball and will be the key player to stop the opening batsmen to score freely in the powerplay. 

Pakistan has historically dominated New Zealand in the shorter format, however, going by the current form, Kiwis look favorites. 

New Zealand VS Pakistan Head to Head:

• Total – 21
• New Zealand – 13
• Pakistan – 8 

New Zealand VS Pakistan Team News: 

Kane Williamson is not available for the first game. Mitchell Santner will be leading the team in this game. 

New Zealand VS Pakistan Probable Playing XI:

New Zealand - Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert (wk), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (c), Scott Kuggeleijn, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Todd Astle

Pakistan - Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Wahab Riaz

New Zealand VS Pakistan Fantasy Cricket XI:

• Wicket-keepers - Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips(C)
• Batsmen - Martin Guptill, Devon Conway, Haider Ali 
• All-rounders - Jimmy Neesham, Mohammad Hafeez, Imad Wasim
• Bowlers - Doug Bracewell, Shaheen Afridi, Wahab Riaz