New Delhi: Pakistan would be set for a stern test against New Zealand as the two sides locks horns in the opening Super Eight Group 2 clash of the T20 World Cup 2026 in Colombo. The group stage of the marquee ICC event culminated on Friday with Australia thrashing Oman by 9 wickets to sign off on a high.
Both the sides have experienced decent outings in the group stage with three wins and a lone loss but have not been that effective as per their capabilities and stature. While the Kiwi batters, led by openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen, would be aiming to tame the Pakistan spinners, the bowlers in the Men in Green unit would try to utilise their spin efficacy to tackle Kiwis batting prowess.
Meanwhile except for Seifert and Allen, the Kiwi batters are yet to hit the top gear in the T20 spectacle with the middle-order batters not able to back them up sufficiently. The likes of Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell have struggled for consistency but they will be aiming to fire for the side before it gets too late.
Pakistan experience batting worries
For the Pakistan side, spinners Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan give them an edge but the side has also been dealing with their own problems. Shadab Khan (88) is their highest run-getter after Sahibzada Farhan (220), the tournament’s current top run-maker. So apart from Farhan, who experienced a failure just against India, none of their batters have fired.
Pakistan batters will need to make a bigger collective contribution against an experienced outfit like New Zealand. Senior batter Babar Azam has just scored 66 runs in the tournament and would be aiming to fire in the crucial stage of the tournament. The side will also like to include pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi for the game after he was dropped for the must-win match against Namibia.
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq.
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Cole McConchie.