Preview: Pakistan v New Zealand

The final of the ongoing tri-series in Pakistan is set to take place on Friday in Karachi between the hosts and New Zealand. Both sides qualified to play after beating South Africa, the third side in the tournament, in high-scoring games. What makes this game extra interesting is the fact that when the ICC Champions Trophy opens next week, it will be Pakistan and New Zealand who square up in the opener.

In total, there have been 55 ODI’s played at the National Stadium. There is no real difference between batting first or second in Karachi. There have been 26 instances of the side batting first winning and 27 of the side batting second winning. Two games ended with no result.

In terms of choices at toss time, on 31 occasions, the winning skipper chose to bat, while 24 times, they opted to field first.

Heading into the game, there is not much to separate the two sides. In their last five games, each side has won four and lost one. Pakistan’s only defeat in the last five was in the pool stage of this tournament against Friday’s opponents, New Zealand.

Pakistan v New Zealand | Tri-Series | Friday 14 February 2025 | National Stadium, Karachi | 11:00am

Pakistan

Pakistan have played 48 games at the National Stadium, and they have won 26 of them. Their most recent game at the venue was Wednesday’s record-breaking victory over South Africa.

Before Wednesday, Pakistan’s highest score at the National Stadium was 353 for six, a score they made against England in 2005. On Wednesday, they posted a score of 355 for four as they smashed South Africa’s bowlers to all parts of the ground.

Pakistan struggled in the field, appearing a bit low on energy at first. But that changed once Shahid Shah Afridi took the fight, quite literally, to Matthew Breetzke. His altercation with the Proteas batsman, which did result in a fine from the ICC, seemed to energize the whole team, and they looked a little livelier in the field thereafter. Without overstepping the line again, they need to make sure they come hard in the final.

Shaheen Shah Afridi is Pakistan’s most potent bowling weapon. He is bowling well at the moment and is their leading wicket-taker in the series. Expect him to start again with the ball for the home side.

Babar Azam is the top-ranked ODI batsman in the world, with nine centuries from 59 games. His highest score is 196, but you have to go back to 2022 to find the last time he reached three figures – that was 27 innings ago against New Zealand, but critically, it was at the National Stadium in Karachi that he did it. He failed again against South Africa on Wednesday, scoring just 23, but he was hitting the ball crisply and looking in good touch until he was trapped LBW by Wian Mulder.

As much as he is ranked the number one ODI batsman in the world, Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan felt the need to defend Babar when he addressed the media after the Proteas ODI. “Babar has scored so many runs for Pakistan that we expect him to score a hundred in each game. If we don’t judge him by those extreme expectations, you’ll find he’s still chipping in and contributing

valuably for us. As a captain, I expect a lot more of him, too, because of all he has done in the past. There is obviously additional pressure because of it, and I’m sure he feels that, too. But if you look at his innings in South Africa, he is still scoring runs. It’s not as if he has clear technical deficiencies, but he is still being tested. I am confident he’ll come out of it.”

Fakhar Zaman is the second-highest-ranked Pakistan batsman. Zaman was out in the cold for a while after falling out with the Pakistan cricket authorities, but he was back at the top of the order in the first ODI of the series, where he top-scored with 84 off just 69 balls. His good form continued against South Africa on Wednesday when he smashed a brisk 41 from 28 balls to set the tone for what was to follow. He has an excellent record in big games – he’s played in five semis or finals where he has produced scores of 57, 114, 91, 55* and a duck.

While the wickets used in the tournament thus far have been batsman-friendly, their death bowling will still be a major concern for Pakistan. Against the Black Caps, they went for 98 in the final six overs, while against the Proteas, they gave away 87 runs in the final seven.

New Zealand

Former skipper Kane Williamson has led the way with the bat, hitting 191 runs in New Zealand’s two games in the tournament. He is currently ranked 29th by the ICC but expected that to change when the ICC update the list. Also, expect Williamson to be amongst the runs again on Friday – he is a player for the big occasion, and he is in good form. He is a good bet to be the game’s top scorer.

This is a very strong New Zealand side, as they showed in the first game of the series. Batting at number six, Glenn Phillips struck a sensational 106 from 74 balls as he came in with the score on 135 for four in the 28th over. While he top-scored, there were also excellent contributions from Kane Williamson (58) and Daryl Mitchell (81). In the second game, there was a ton for Williamson and a knock of 97 for Devon Conway.

There has been no update on the situation with Rachin Ravindra, who took a knock to the head in the tournament’s opening game. He missed out on playing against South Africa, and Conway did well in his stead. While they have not officially ruled Ravindra out, they have said that he won’t be rushed back to action.

Daryl Mitchell is New Zealand’s top-ranked player in the ICC rankings. He is currently seventh, while teammate Will Young is the next highest ranked at 14.

As much as this is not a match of major significance, it is nevertheless a final, and New Zealand doesn’t have a great record in finals. They have featured in 12 white-ball finals since 2000 and have won only four of those.

He is a part of the squad, but Lockie Ferguson is unlikely to play as he continues to recover from a hamstring strain. He hasn’t yet been ruled out of the Champions Trophy, and the Black Caps want to give him every chance to recover before the tournament starts next week.

Verdict: Pakistan

New Zealand is a very good side, but the hosts will have taken a huge amount of confidence from their record run chase against South Africa. Salman Agha (134) and Mohammad Rizwan (122) were simply fantastic, and their efforts have permeated the mood of the whole team.