πππππ :βββ New Zealand vs Pakistan
ππππ : March 29, Saturday
ππππ : 03:30 AM IST
πππππ : Mclean Park, Napier, New Zealand
ππππππππππ :1st ODI 2025
Will the return of Pakistan’s big guns be enough to prevent another New Zealand victory?
- New Zealand have won four of Pakistan’s five games so far on this tour.
- Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam return to Pakistan’s squad for the ODIs.
- New Zealand have won four of the last five ODI head to heads against Pakistan.
New Zealand vs Pakistan
TV channels: The fans can watch the match live on Hotstar
Live Streaming: Live streaming of the match will be available on the FAFA191 Cricket Exchange India and website.
NZ vs PAK Match Prediction & Analysis
New Zealand won the T20I series 4-1 and were dominant across all four of their victories, proving to be way too strong for Pakistan in home conditions.
Most pundits expect the hosts to be too strong once again in this ODI series but they should have tougher contests with the two top Pakistan players from this generation – Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam returning to the side.
However, the ‘Men in Green’ will be without Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi, arguably two of their top pace bowling options, who have not been selected in the squad for this leg of the tour.
TEAMS PREVIEW
New Zealand Preview
As with the T20Is, New Zealand will not be at full strength but they will still be able to put out a team full of talent and with plenty of experience in these home conditions in Napier.
However, there is no place for keeper-batter Tim Seifert who top scored for New Zealand in the successful five-match T20I series earlier this month.
In his place, we can expect the likes of captain Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell to be the main run-scorers in this first ODI with Bracewell, along with Jacob Duffy and Will O’Rourke spearheading the bowling attack.
Consistent opener Will Young had been added to the squad but he has since pulled out due to paternity leave and Rhys Mariu is chomping at the bit to get his opportunity at international level for the first time.
Pakistan Preview
Most ODI sides in the world would benefit from the skills and consistency that Babar Azam and captain Mohammad Rizwan bring to a team and Pakistan will be no different in this game.
However, Babar has not been in great form, being dismissed in the 20s in both of his last games but he did at least hit 64 runs against New Zealand in his last but one innings in this format.
With Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi vacating the scene, this game gives plenty of opportunities for some of the fringe players to make a name for themseves in this series.
Pakistan do have the ability to win this game but it is their recent form across all formats which will be the most worrying.
Weather Conditions
There could be a short sharp shower at one stage in the early afteroon, but overall it will be very warm throughout this game in Napier on Saturday.
NZ vs PAK Pitch Report
Napier has always been one of those grounds where scoring runs is not all that difficult. The overhead conditions should make it more comfortable for the top order to contribute throughout the innings but we still expect to see New Zealand come out on top!
Toss: To Bowl
With plenty of opportunity for batting over the three ODIs, we predict that both teams will want to bat first ahead of this opening ODI of the series and try to bat the other team out of the game.
