Author: Muhammad Farooq

RAWALPINDI: With probably just a day left in Eidul Fitr, Babar Azam-led Pakistan are hoping to give the nation an Eid gift they would love to receive – a series victory – by defeating New Zealand in the PAK vs NZ 4th T20 here at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Click to Watch PAK vs NZ Live Match HD Streaming at ARY ZAP

After the action-filled first three T2OIs in Lahore, the Rawalpindi stadium awaits to welcome the two sides, especially their batters, for the last two matches of the five-game series.

The Green Shirts brought out their “A” game in front of a packed Gaddafi Stadium crowd, though they lost the last encounter when visitors snatched a close win by four runs and reduced the Pakistan vs New Zealand series deficit to 2-1.

However, greased-up Pakistan have a well-balanced playing lineup and all the necessary ingredients to counter the Blackcaps in every sphere of the game.

Babar and company look in sublime touch with the skipper leading the pack from the front. He remains the leading scorer for his side with 111 runs, including a phenomenal century in the second PAK vs NZ T20I.

Apart from Babar, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed and young sensation Saim Ayub have also showcased their intent with the bat on different occasions.

On the bowling front, the Green Shirts will be rooting on Haris Rauf to do his business as usual as he has already picked up ten wickets in three games.

Also, the left-arm pacer Shaheen, who is playing his first international series since the T20 World Cup final last year, has also returned with his signature celebration style after giving the side an early breakthrough.

Promising Ihsanullah, Zaman Khan and Naseem Khan comprised the rest of Pakistan’s pace attack.

Moreover, Imad Wasim and vice-captain Shadab Khan were in charge of the spin department with both having the ability to dismiss the well-set batters.

Besides, it will also be a double delight for Babar if he wins today’s contest. He would take an insurmountable lead in the series and also set the record for the most number of T20I wins as a captain.

He would surpass Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan and England’s Eoin Morgan after leading the side to its 43rd win under his captaincy.

Meanwhile, rejuvenated by their first-ever T20I victory in Pakistan, Blackcaps will look to drag the results till the final game of the series as they gained sufficient confidence from that stunning win on Monday despite Iftikhar Ahmed’s heroic knock of 24-ball 60.

Though the touring party is missing several of its key players including Kane Williamson Kane William­son, Glenn Phillips, Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Tim Sou­thee, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Siefert, Mitchell Santner and Mic­hael Bracewell, players like James Neesham, Mark Chapman and skipper Tom Latham have already shown what they are capable of.

Probable Playing XIs: 

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah.

New Zealand: Tom Latham (c & wk), Chad Bowes, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, James Neesham. Rachin Ravindra, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Ben Lister.

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan all-format skipper Babar Azam is just one win away from breaking another headline record as a team captain when his side meets New Zealand in the fourth PAK vs NZ T20I, here at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday. 

Babar has the opportunity to etch his name as the captain with the most number of wins in the shortest format of the game during the upcoming encounter against the visitors.

WATCH PAK VS NZ LIVE MATCH IN HD STREAMING at ARY ZAP

So far, he is the joint-holder of this record with Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan and England’s Eoin Morgan after 42 wins.

The 28-year-old has captained the Green Shirts in 69 T20 international matches. It will be a double delight for Babar if he secures a victory in his 70th T20I match as a skipper. He can wrap up the five-game series along with becoming the captain with the most number of wins in the format with 43 victories.

It is pertinent to mention here that Babar has captained the Pakistan T20I side more than any other captain in history. He was given the reins back in 2019 following the ouster of former all-format captain Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Under his captaincy, Pakistan reached the semifinals of two successive T20 World Cups -2021 and 2022 – and finished as runner-ups in the latter.

It must be noted here that the ongoing five-game series took an interesting turn on Monday after New Zealand won their maiden T20I against Pakistan on the latter’s home soil last night and reduced the hosts’ advantage to 2-1.

In the third PAK v NZ T20I, Pakistan failed just four runs short of victory while chasing 164 as the home side could raise 159 before bundling out on the final delivery despite Iftikhar’s quickfire 60.

The Rawalpindi pitch, known for delivering high-scoring contests because of its batting-friendly nature, will host the last two matches of PAK vs NZ T20I series on April 20 and 24, respectively.

READ: PAK vs NZ: Run-fest expected on batting-friendly Pindi pitches

It is nothing less than a miracle that we are witnessing Pakistan stepping into the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. In fact, the elderly fans of the team would have gone through a deja vu when almost three decades ago Imran Khan’s ‘Cornered tigers’ pulled off a dream comeback aided by forces beyond human comprehension to qualify for the final four and then locking horns with New Zealand before the final. A perfect repeat telecast of the 1992 World Cup is what the nation will be craving today. 

But, what are the odds that a wobbly Pakistan – who barely advanced to the final four stage – can beat the Kiwis – who almost made it a mundane activity to become finalists of the recent ICC tournaments, both ODI and T20 – at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the first semi-final on Wednesday? (New Zealand were the runner ups of the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups, and  also the 2021 T20 World Cup)

Both teams have one strength in common, and that is their pace battery. With veterans like Trent Boult and Tim Southee and an express pacer Lockie Ferguson at their disposal, New Zealand have every box ticked to disrupt even the most potent batting lineups of the world. And If they could make the new ball talk, the under-pressure opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam might find it hard to salvage themselves from a woeful batting slump in the current tournament.

Pakistan, on the other hand, will be rooting for Shaheen, who just got his rhythm back, to give them an early breakthrough before Naseem Shah and death-bowling specialist Haris Rauf could further coerce the strong-looking Kiwi batting line. Pakistan will try to resist any change in their bowling make-up as the addition of an extra fast bowler, Mohammad Wasim Jr, have paid them dividends in the last four matches.

Besides their pace factory, Pakistan got a highly reliable spin attack that features the likes of leg-spinner Shadab Khan, who has been the most impactful player for the Green Shirts be it with the bowl or even with the bat, the all-rounder has made his presence felt and played some crucial roles in his side’s triumph.
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A brief glance at the stats of the SCG shows us that the teams batting first have an edge over their opponents as they won 10 out of 17 T20I matches while the average first innings score is 167. Pakistan bode far better than the average when they raised 185/9 against South Africa in their group match at the venue, thanks to the blistering knocks by Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed coupled with a superb cameo played by young Mohammad Haris in the powerplay.

The Green Shirts desperately need their batting mainstays, Babar and Rizwan, to click just at the right time and it couldn’t be a much better opportunity than this. So far their sluggish approach in the powerplay caused less good than evil for the team in the tournament. But a bet on energetic Haris to open for the team might break that stagnation at the top for Pakistan. Maybe or maybe not? We have to see how today’s game turns out.

HEAD TO HEAD (T20Is)

Matches 28, Pakistan 17, New Zealand 11

FORM GUIDE

Pakistan: W,W,W,L,L
New Zealand: W,L,W,W,L

KARACHI: After a thrilling victory in the fourth T20I against England, Pakistan registered another interesting record to its credit as they won every landmark match of their T20I journey. 

The Green Shirts played their 200th T20I match on Sunday at National Stadium Karachi and the victory maintained the national team’s streak of defeating its opponents on important occasions.

Pakistan recorded triumphs in their first, 50th, 100th, 150th and now 200th match of the shortest format.

Men in Green played their first T20I match against England on August 28, 2006, at Bristol and defeated the hosts by five wickets in the match.

In its 50th T20I, the national team crushed Bangladesh by 50 runs at Shere Bangla Stadium in Dhaka on November 29, 2011.

The landmark 100th T20I witnessed another comprehensive victory by the Green Shirts as they beat the United Arab Emirates by 7 wickets in Asia Cup 2016 held in Bangladesh.

Pakistan locked horns with Bangladesh at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium in their 150th T20I on January 24, 2020, and the home side clinched the victory by five wickets on that occasion.

Besides these noteworthy victories, the national team also holds the record for the most number of wins in T20 international as they won 123 out of 200 matches, they’ve played so far.

READ: ‘Won’t take risk on Buttler before World Cup’ England coach Mott

KARACHI: Various records tumbled as the opening duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan powered the Green Shirts to a thumping 10-wicket victory over England in the second T20I. 

After struggling with the bat in the Asia Cup 2022, captain Babar came back with a stunning ton on Thursday at Karachi’s National Stadium, becoming the only Pakistani player to score two centuries in T20 internationals.

The resounding win strengthened Babar’s record not just as a batter but also as the team’s leader. With his 30th T20I victory Babar became the most successful captain of Pakistan in T20Is, surpassing Sarfaraz Ahmed, who led the Green Shirt in 29 T20I wins.

The unbeaten 203-run partnership between the skipper and Rizwan became the highest partnership for Pakistan.

The pair bettered their own previous record of a 197-run stand against South Africa in 2021. On both occasions, the Green Shirts were chasing the targets. Thus, making it the only pair who put on 175 or more in a single T20I stand while chasing. Babar and Rizwan have done it twice.

This is the 5th 150+ partnership between Babar and Rizwan, most by any pair in T20 internationals. No other pair did it more than twice.

Moreover, the magical duo registered their 7th centurion stand. The top five partnerships for Pakistan in T20Is belong to Babar and Rizwan.

During his blistering knock of 110, Babar also became the second fastest batter to score 8000 T20 runs in 218 innings.

READ: ‘We don’t let such things affect our team’ Babar replies to critics