Pakistan have made one change for the ICC World Cup 2023 match against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru today.
Pacer Hasan Ali has replaced leg-spinner Usama Mir in the Pakistan team.
New Zealand have also made three changes with skipper Kane Williamson returning along with Mark Chapman and Ish Sodhi.
Lineups
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
Pakistan’s match against New Zealand is also likely to be affected by rain. According to the latest weather update, there are more than 90 percent chances of rain between 2-4pm local time.
It must be noted that the match will start at 10:30 local time, which means that the second half of the encounter could be affected by rain.
According to ICC regulations, an additional hour will be given to complete the match in case there are rain interruptions.
Pakistan made a comeback in the tournament after suffering four consecutive defeats — against India, Australia, Afghanistan, and South Africa — as they beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in their last match in Kolkata.
On the other hand, despite a bright start and having four out of four wins at one point, the Black Caps suffered three consecutive defeats — India, Australia and South Africa.
A defeat to either of the teams tomorrow would seriously damage their chances of playing the event's semi-final, Pakistan especially since they are not just behind in net run rate (NRR) but now also have to rely on Afghanistan's matches after Hashmatullah Shahidi's men clinched a significant win against the Netherlands on Friday.