KARACHI: Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy against New Zealand at the National Bank Cricket Stadium in Karachi.
Green Shirts captain Mohammad Rizwan said bowling first was the decision because the dew factor can come in later as we have seen in the last few matches. “We are the defending champions so will be under a bit more pressure.
Talking about the playing XI, Rizwan said Haris Rauf was brought back for the opening match, dropping Faheem Ashraf from the last team that played New Zealand in the tri-nation series final last week.
“We will treat it like the previous tri-series [played against New Zealand]. Playing in Pakistan will be great as well and we want to be relaxed and not under pressure. Haris Rauf is fit again so he’s back in.”
The Blackcaps also made a change from their last outing against Pakistan in the tri-nation series final, bringing Matt Henry back.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said, “The dew gets on later, but we have a job to do with the bat. Looks like a good wicket.”
“We have a good mix of experience and new faces and are playing some good cricket as well. We have been lucky to play these guys home and away, so we know each other well.”
PakistanXI: Mohammad Rizwan (captain, wicketkeeper), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
New Zealand XI: Mitchell Santner (captain), Will Young, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wicketkeeper), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke.
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