Bengaluru (Web Desk/Agencies) Pakistan on Saturday won the toss and decided to bowl first against New Zealand in the 35th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 played at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Pakistan have made one change inducting Hassan Ali in place of Usama Mir while the Kiwis made two changes as Ish Sodhi and Kane Williamson have replaced Matt Henry and Will Young in today's match.
The winner of today's match will become a strong contender to qualify for the semi-final.
Pakistan are two points off fourth-placed Black Caps, with the top four advancing to the semis, and although New Zealand have a greatly superior net run rate, Babar Azam’s men feel they have a lifeline when the two sides meet today.
New Zealand are currently fourth in the 10-team table with eight points after their opening four wins were followed by three defeats. Pakistan, with six points, need to win to stay in contention for a semi-final place.
Pakistan not only need to win against New Zealand to keep themselves alive heading into the last round of matches, but calculators will be out to see whether Babar’s men can surpass their opponents’ net run rate.
Teams
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Mohammad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult