πππππ :Β Pakistan vs New Zealand
ππππ : February 08, Saturday
ππππ : 14:30 PM ISTβ
πππππ : Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Cantt, Pakistan
ππππππππππ : 1st ODI 2025
With the ICC Champions Trophy just around the corner, Pakistan and New Zealand kick off the Tri-Nation Series on Saturday!
- Pakistan are in excellent ODI form, winning all five of their last games in this format.
- New Zealand have won only two of their last five ODIs.
- Pakistan have beaten New Zealand in four of their last five head to heads.
Pakistan vs New Zealand
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.
PAK vs NZ Match Prediction & Analysis
Excitement is building in Pakistan ahead of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy and we expect the level of anticipation to only go up a notch ahead of this opening clash of the Tri-Nation Series.
All three teams in this tournament, hosts Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa, are not among the favourites for the eight country competition later in the month but they will all be happy to enter as underdogs due to the immense skill and talent they all have.
TEAMS PREVIEW
Pakistan Preview
On a wicket which we expect to be hard, shiny and bouncy, we anticipate Pakistan will go all out and unleash their four express-pace bowlers in this opening game of the Tri-Nation Series.
That means Shaheen Shah Afridi to take the new ball with Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf along with Mohammad Hasnain ready to step up as first change bowlers. As ever, we can expect these Pakistan pacers to bowl with hostility and aggression with a priority of taking wickets. The issue always is though that they are still able to go for plenty of runs when the batters get established at the crease.
Babar Azam is going through a lean spell of form with the bat but he will see this game as an opportunity to find some form ahead of the Champions Trophy. If he can get going then Pakistan, along with Saud Shakheel, Umran Khan and skipper Mohammad Rizwan, could well pile on the runs in this game on Saturday!
New Zealand Preview
New Zealand have already tasted success in ODI cricket in 2025 and although they were well beaten by Sri Lanka in the third and final game of the series in January, they won the previous two games by nine wicket and by 113 runs.
We expect the Black Caps to treat this game and the whole series with full respect and look to get all of their players into the best possible form ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy.
The biggest selection query looks to be over the place of Tom Latham in the side. The Test captain is a strong player across all formats but we expect the right-handed Will Young to get the nod to make a left-right opening partnership with all-rounder Rachin Ravindra.
Weather Conditions
The forecast is for a cloudier day on Saturday compared to the previous and following days in Lahore. The temperature will be up at 22 degrees at the start of the game but will drop to the high teens by the conclusion.
PAK vs NZ Pitch Report
The last ODI in Lahore yielded a one-sided contest between Bangladesh and Pakistan with the hosts winning by seven wickets with 63 balls remaining. We expect a hard and true wicket with spinners mainly used to slow the pace of the runs. Whoever bats first will be looking to post a total of at least 285.
Toss: To Bowl
With four of the last six ODIs in Lahore won by the team fielding first and chasing down a target in the second innings of the game, we predict that both captains will want to bowl first ahead of this fixture.
