In the 3rd ODI of th💮e 10-match ICC Cricket World Cup warm-up series, Pakistan and New Zealand will face each other in a heated clash on 29 September 2023 on Indian soil. The Pakistani side is now desperate to turn the table after their upsetting performance at the Asia Cup 2023.
With their sဣtar-studded squad consisting of Will Young, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, and Tim Southee, New Zealand is also ready to give a befitting reply at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. Although Pakistan is a clear favourite this time, cricket experts also have high hopes for the Kiwis as they delivered some great performances in the past as an underdog.
📝 New Zealand vs Pakistan Odds
Black Caps look promising after securing the New Zealand tour of Bangladesh series with two clear wins this week. However, they failed to deliver an impressive performance against Pakistan in the ongoing season. They lost the ODI series to the Greens by 4-1 during their last visit to Pakistan in May this year. Most of the best cricket betting sites now predict that history will repeat itself in favour of P🧜akistan. Following are the current odds:
- New Zealand to win at
- Pakistan to win at
New Zealand vs Pakistan Predictions
Pakistan will try to start their ICC Cricket World Cup adventure with a win against the Kiwis in the closed-door w෴arm-up game in Hyderabad. They have recently appointed two South African cricketing legends, Mickey Arthur and Morne Morkel, as mentors to further sharpen their deadly pace attack.
Fans also have clear expectations from Babar Azam, the current World No.1 batsman with an 857 rating in the ICC ODI ranki💫ng. However, Bobby๊ failed to shine at the Asia Cup while having just a single ton against the Nepalese cricket team. Experts are now hoping for an outstanding innings from this iconic batter, as he is now just one short of surpassing the long-standing century records of Pakistani legends Javed Miandad and Saeed Anwar.
On the other hand, New Zealand will feel the absence of their batting powerhouse, Kane Williamson. Kiwis also have a re🥂cord of underperforming in th🎐e ICC World Cup for the last three decades. In the previous two instalments, they lost the final to Australia in 2015 and then failed against the English side again in 2019. Kiwis are now also failing to dominate pace attacks, which they have mastered before.
📋 New Zealand vs Pakistan Key Stats
- Pakistan has 2 victories, 2 losses, and an NR in their last 5 ODI matches. They lost their last game against Sri Lanka by a very close margin in the DLS method. Surprisingly, the stats are exactly the same for New Zealand in their previous five ODIs. (2W-2L-1NR).
- Pakistan achieved 7 victories in their last 10 ODI matches against New Zealand, while Kiwis secured just 3. Moreover, the Falcons almost clean-swept NZ in the last series when the Kiwis visited them just four months back.
- Considering the all-time stats, Pakistan and New Zealand have come head-to-head 115 times in the ODI circuit till now. Greens achieved 60 victories, while Blacks have 51 in their bag. Besides, Pakistan always dominated against NZ in away and neutral venues.
- Rajiv Gandhi Stadium has a batting-friendly pitch. With 76% humidity and 40% precipitation, it will likely have a fast outfield favourable to batsmen like Babar Azam. The projected 8 km/hour wind speed will also favour batters as pacers will not get any advantage.
- Pakistan’s opening line consisting of Babar, Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Rizwan, and Iftikhar Ahmed, has the required prowess to deal with the Kiwis’ pace attack. They can equally handle spinners like Ish Sodhi.
New Zealand vs Pakistan Betting Tips
Pakistan’s star-studded top-order is expected to lock 340-360 runs in this batting pitch. If they bat first, it is almost certain that pacers like Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf will hold the Black Caps under the target. However, it is challenging to predict꧂ batsmen like Devon Conway and Tom Latham as they have the ability to turn any situation upside down. So, it is better to put a wager on bit more predictable markets. The proven tips from🌸 our cricket betting expert team are as follows:
Babar Azam to score 50 (Half Century) – 2.26 Odds ()
Babar Azam, the current skipper of the Pakistani side, is widely regarded as one of🥀 the greatest batsmen of all time, with marvellous records under his name. He is equally competent in dealing with any bowlers, pacers, seamers and spinners alike.
Bobby faced New Zealand 19 times an🦹d scored 840 runs in total, with 2 centuries and 7 half-centuries. He played a 101 not-out innings against th♉e Kiwis in the last World Cup. Babar also scored 107 with 10 boundaries in his penultimate match against NZ on 5 May this year.
It is highly unlikely for Kiwi fast bow✤lers like Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee and Trent Boult to give him a tough challenge on this batting pitch, even when they are constantly delive💞ring at 135-145 per hour. Pacer will also not get any swing advantage due to the projected low wind speed.
Babar, being a subcontinental player, has a natural ability to handle spinners much better than the rest. He is expected to continue his excelꩵlent batting stint aga✅inst iconic NZ spinner Ish Sodhi.
Shaheen Afridi to make Pakistan the team with top bowler” – 1.65 Odds ()
Newly married Shaheen Afridi is all s🦂et to have his take on the upcoming 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. But before that, he surely w🌠ants to test his actual pace-power and swings against a competent team like New Zealand.
He may not get any swing support due to batting pitch conditions and low wind spe🐭ed. But Shaheen, being a different breed, can still do🔯minate the ground with sheer speed. He is truly among the prime next-gen Pakistani fast bowlers who can constantly clock 145-150 km/hour.
He achieved his career’s highe🅷st speed, 151 KM/hour, against New Zealand at the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. Shaheen also has a great track record against the Black Caps since his inclusion in the Pakistan U-16 side.
In the 8 matches he ever played against the New Zealand team, he took 20 wickets in total with a bowling economy of 4.95. He also secured 4-wicket hauls twice against the Black Caps, with his best performance of 4/38🌃.
Devon Conway to score more than 30.5 – 1.89 Odds ()
The South African-born Kiwi wicketkeeper-batter Devon Conway is always a delight to watch. He is not just good with keeping gloves but equally competent as a left-haℱnded top-order batsman for the 💙Black Caps.
Conway created a sensation in his debut test match when he scored a ton and became the 12th player for Kiwis to do so. He also has an excellent 💟track record against Pakistan in both Test and limited over formats.
The Kiwi wicketkeeper played just 3 ODI matches against Pakistan and scored 153 in total. He has a batting average෴ of 51.00 with a 96.83 strike rate against the Falco🔯ns.
Conway is quite accustomed to the Indian batting pitches, especially in the🌃 southern part of the nation, as he plays under Captain Cool for Chennai Super Kings 🎉In IPL. It will not be difficult for him to cross 30, even when he has opponent pacers like Shaheen and Rauf.
📺 How to watch New Zealand vs Pakistan
- Location: Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad (Telangana), India
- Date and time: Friday, 29 September 2023, 14:00 IST
- How to watch: Enjoy the match live on Sportsbet.TV (from the house of ) and . If you are from India, you can watch the match on the Disney+ Hotstar app for free.
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