Pakistan to take on New Zealand in first T20I on Thursday

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Pakistan to take on New Zealand in first T20I on Thursday

Lahore (Web Desk/Agencies): Pakistan are set to face New Zealand in a five-match T20I series, with the first match scheduled to be played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium at 7:30pm on April 18 (Thursday).

As per the schedule, the second and third matches will also be played at the same venue on April 20 and 21.

The fourth match of the series will be played on April 25 while the fifth on April 27 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Pakistan’s likely XI include Babar Azam (captain), Saeem Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan, Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Irfan Khan Niazi, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Zaman Khan, Muhammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Osama Mir, Fakhr Zaman and Abrar Ahmed.

Reserve players of the team include Haseebullah, Muhammad Ali, Sahibzada Farhan, Agha Salman and Wasim Jr.

The New Zealand team includes Michael Bracewell, Tom Blundell, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Dean Foxcroft, Ben Lister, Cole McConchie, Zack Fowlkes, Jimmy Neesham, Will O’Rourke, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, and Ish Sodhi.

So far, 39 T20 International matches have been played between Pakistan and New Zealand in which New Zealand won 17 matches and lost 21, while one match ended without a result.

Pakistan’s highest score against New Zealand in a T20 International was 201 runs for the loss of 4 wickets which was scored by Pakistan on January 25, 2018 at Auckland.

New Zealand’s highest score against Pakistan was 226 runs for 8 wickets on January 12, 2024 at Auckland ground.