Watch New Zealand v Pakistan Live Streaming World Cup 2011

New Zealand brace for in-form Pakistan

March 7, 2011

Match Facts

March 8, Pallekele
Start time 14.30 local (09.00 GMT)

The fast bowlers could find the Pallekele pitch more to their liking than the ones in Colombo and Hambantota

The pressure on the Test teams in Group A, unlike those scrumming in Group B, is of a milder nature. The teams in Group B are securing quarter-final qualification first and looking after their positions in the process. Unless Zimbabwe scores an unlikely upset, however, all four Test teams in Group A are ensured of a place in the knockouts. They are merely jostling for places at present. Of the strongest, New Zealand are the weakest. Their opponents on Tuesday, Pakistan, are the only team to win everything so far.

New Zealand have beaten Kenya and Zimbabwe - by a ten-wicket margin no less - and another victory against Canada will see them through. It's that brittle performance against Australia, however, that is an indication of the difficulty they will face against formidable sides. On paper, like previous New Zealand teams, this one also has the facets of a fighting outfit.

They have explosive hitters, theoretically bat extremely deep, and have an abundance of bowling options, fast and slow. Their fielding, as ever, is among the best. Their problems are a combination of form, poor technique, and impatience that led to several batsmen chasing and edging wide deliveries against Australia. It's the batting that needs fixing first, for without runs on the subcontinent there is little hope, and they'll have to do it against one of the tournament's most in-form bowling attacks.

The odds on Pakistan being the only team with a 100% win record halfway into the league stage would have been rather high at the start of the World Cup. They weren't being talked up in the lead-up to the tournament - the spot-fixing scandal and the uncertainty over the one-day captaincy overshadowing their performances on the field. But they put Kenya and Canada away and in between those victories toppled tournament favourites Sri Lanka.

Their middle order has largely been solid, and the one time it failed - against Canada - their bowlers raised their game to meet the challenge. They've met and beaten New Zealand in a one-day series immediately preceeding the World cup. Play to potential and Pakistan will expect to dispatch them again tomorrow. Slip, and it could be the opening New Zealand need to rediscover their efficient game.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand WLWWL

Pakistan WWWLW

Watch out for...

… Shahid Afridi the bowler, who has been a vastly more dangerous opponent than Afridi the batsman in recent years. He is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with 14 from three matches, including two five-wicket hauls. He tests batsmen with legbreaks, straighter ones and googlies. And then there's the fast ball that tears at batsmen at 130 kph, leaving them no time to react if they've come ill prepared. Afridi has at least four more matches to beat Glenn McGrath's tournament record of 26 wickets - in 2007 - and needs 13 more. He, as always, is Pakistan's talisman in the field, and if New Zealand give him a foothold, he will swarm all over them.

Tim Southee won't be ranked high on the list of the tournament's most dangerous bowlers but he's done tidily so far, picking up seven wickets at an average of 12.42 with an economy of 3.43. He swings the ball both in and out, bowls a probing wicket-to-wicket line, and has a useful yorker during the end overs. The challenge for him, however, is to strike and maintain a low economy on the subcontinent, where conditions are different from the ones he thrives in. Pallekele is an unknown quantity and there are indications that the pitch there could be faster than elsewhere.

Team news

New Zealand completed a clinical dismantling of Zimbabwe to put their campaign back on track and there seems to be no reason to change that winning combination. Brendon McCullum suffered from some soreness but is expected to play against Pakistan.

New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Jesse Ryder, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 James Franklin, 6 Scott Styris, 7 Nathan McCullum, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Hamish Bennett.

Pakistan are likely to make one change and bring back Shoaib Akhtar, who missed the game against Canada, for Wahab Riaz. Abdur Rehman, the left-arm spinner, is recovering from his leg injury but is unlikely to be risked against New Zealand.

Pakistan (probable) 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Kamran Akmal (wk), 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Shahid Afridi, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Umar Gul.

Pitch and conditions

Misbah-ul-Haq said the pitch was hard and had grass, indicating that there would be bounce. Daniel Vettori agreed, but no one can say for certain. Pallekele hasn't hosted an international game before. New Zealand, however, have played at the venue located in the hills near Kandy and bowled out a Sri Lanka A side for 91. The weather forecast is thankfully clear.

Stats and Trivia

• Pakistan lost their first World Cup match against New Zealand in 1983. They won the next six.

• Younis Khan averaged 21 and 12 in the previous two World Cups with a high score of 32. He's averaging 42.66 in this one with two half-centuries in three innings.

• New Zealand's openers, Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill, average 135 and 118 in this World Cup. They have been dismissed only once each in three innings.

Quotes

"We've not been able to put consistent team performances together. That's pretty much where we've let ourselves down in the past. Hopefully there is some confidence from the Zimbabwe game. If we can bring the same performance in this game then it's going to be huge for us in the tournament."
Daniel Vettori hopes his team will build on the Zimbabwe win

"They just can't target me, because before me there are three or four batsmen who can get hundreds. They can't wait for me only. We are playing with six batsmen so every batsman is important."
Misbah-ul-Haq attempts to divert New Zealand's focus from him.

Watch New Zealand Vs Pakistan 2nd ODI Live Streming

	New Zealand Vs Pakistan
Venue :2nd One Day International, Queenstown Events Centre Live action starts from: 22:00 GMT (03:30 IST) ODI Pakistan Tour of New Zealand 2010-11 Match

Match Facts

January 26, Queenstown
Start time 11:00 (22.00 GMT)

	Pakistan had no answer to Tim Southee's legcutters and inswingers in the first ODI

Big Picture

All's been quiet on the controversy front over the past few months for Pakistan, but the announcement of a World Cup squad without a captain has stoked trouble again. Claims that the team was divided into camps supporting Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and limited-overs leader Shahid Afridi grew louder following a resounding nine-wicket defeat to New Zealand three days after the squad announcement.

Pakistan's familiar batting frailties cropped up in Wellington, and the second one-dayer could be a continuation of the same. It is being played in Queenstown, a much-loved spot for adventure-sport enthusiasts, but far less welcoming to batsmen - the average first-innings score is 173.

New Zealand's batting hasn't had much to boast about in the recent past either, though they made short work of the target of 125 in the first one-dayer. Their new coach, John Wright, has stressed the importance of having a strong middle and lower order, which has resulted in Brendon McCullum being pushed down to No. 6. The batting weaknesses of both sides seem of have weighed heavily on the team managements and they have responded by adding meat lower down - in the first ODI Abdul Razzaq batted as low as No. 8, while in Queenstown Daniel Vettori is slated to come in at No. 9.

The big gain for New Zealand in Wellington, before the end of a dreadful run in one-dayers, is their quick bowling, with Tim Southee in top form and Hamish Bennett proving a handful on his return from injury.

Form guide

New Zealand: WLLLL
Pakistan: LLWLW

Players to watch out for …

Umar Akmal has lost his way after a spectacular start to his career, which raised hopes that Pakistan had unearthed someone to lend steel to a fragile middle-order. He wasn't picked in the Tests, and his hold on a one-day spot is also shaky. The golden duck on Saturday made things worse, but given his undoubted talented, a substantial innings can't be far.

Hamish Bennett, the strongly built Canterbury fast bowler, was impressive on home debut in Wellington, working up speeds in the mid-140s and hassling the batsmen with bounce. With New Zealand lacking an out-and-out fast bowler since the retirement of Shane Bond, Bennett could be the man who provides teeth to the pace attack.

Team news

John Wright has said he would like all members of New Zealand's World Cup 15 to get a game in the series. Jamie How, the Central Districts batsman, gets his chance on Wednesday, taking the place of offspinner Nathan McCullum.

New Zealand (probable): 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Jamie How, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Brendon McCullum (wk), 7 James Franklin, 8 Jacob Oram, 9 Daniel Vettori (capt), 10 Tim Southee, 11 Hamish Bennett

Pakistan's team selection is a lot less straightforward. Shoaib Akhtar will open the bowling, but who will partner him remains to be seen. Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz were rested for the first game after a taxing Test series, and Gul is favourite to take Sohail Tanvir's place in the XI for the second match. Offspinner Saeed Ajmal lost his place as a starter in the South Africa series, and he might again lose out to left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Kamran Akmal (wk), 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Abdur Rehman, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Shoaib Akhtar

Stats and trivia

• In each of the six previous completed matches in Queenstown, the team winning the toss has chosen to field, and gone on to win the match
• In their only previous match in Queenstown, Pakistan successfully chased down 236, which is the highest total at the venue
• The crowd for the first one-dayer in Wellington was 8299, the lowest since the Westpac Stadium opened in 2000

Quotes

"We are expecting better performances from Kamran Akmal, he came back after a long time, and Umar Akmal as well."
Pakistan's captain Shahid Afridi wants more from the Akmal brothers

"I don't think it (the toss) is as important as normal because the overhead (conditions) have been so good and it's a lot drier. I wouldn't be surprised if a team batted first on it."
Daniel Vettori expects a break from tradition in Queenstown

Watch Pakistan Vs New Zealand Live T20 World Cup Match

Pakistan Vs New Zealand 5th Match Super 8s Twenty20 World Cup 2010 8 May Live

			Pakistan Vs South Africa
Venue :9th Match Super 8s Group E, Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia Live action starts from: 13:30 GMT (19:00 IST) T20 ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2010 Match

New Zealand will play Pakistan in what will be the fifth game of the Super Eight stage of the ICC World T20. This will also be the match between the two sides which had lost their opening games of the Super Eights stage; New Zealand were put down by South Africa, whereas Pakistan lost to England.

Hence, the winner of the game will still have a chance to qualify for the next round, whereas the losing team will almost be knocked out of the tournament, unless there is a miracle.

Pakistan's batting continues to haunt them in the tournament despite that one innings against Bangladesh. Against an attack which is strong enough, the side has struggled to make it count, and this has been witnessed in two games now. There is a sense of vulnerability or brittleness in the batting and that has probably been caused by lack of the very big hitters of the ball.

Even against England, the side started out well, but all of a sudden one wicket fell and this was followed by a line of wickets before a nervous-looking Shahid Afridi was run-out. It continues to be a surprise to see that Afridi bats so high up the order and it will make sense for him to come down lower in the batting, thereby allowing some of the more talented batsmen to ensure that they get a start at the top of the order.

The bowling did its best, but nothing much seemed to have come out of it as the side had already scored far too less.

For New Zealand, it was a problem of conceding far too many runs on a difficult pitch. The track was a 150 or thereabouts wicket, but with the Kiwis not possessing anyone with the pace of Dale Steyn and with Shane Bond, not exactly in the best of forms, the opposition could run away with 170 on the board in the slog overs.

The Kiwis may have to try to get in Kyle Mills, something that was a surprise that they did not get him in the side for the South Africa game. His height and ability to bowl the different lengths at different times in the game will go on to augur well for the side.

Between the two teams, one gets the sense that the side that bowls first will have an advantage given that this is a morning match.

Watch Pakistan Vs New Zealand T20 Live Streaming

Cricket: Black Caps eye Twenty20 challenge

Tim Southee wants his side to carry their winning momentum from the ODI series into the Twenty20s against Pakistan.

Thursday, 12 Nov 2009

			Pakistan Vs New Zealand
Venue :1st Twenty20 International, Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium Live action starts from: 16:00 GMT (21:30 IST) T20 Pakistan and New Zealand in UAE 2009-10 Twenty20 International Match

In-form bowler Tim Southee believes New Zealand can carry the momentum of a one-day international series win over Pakistan into the Twenty20 series starting in Dubai on Friday morning (NZT).

Captain Daniel Vettori's men came back from losing the first match of the one-day series in Abu Dhabi by 138 runs to record back-to-back successes - by 64 runs and seven runs.

And even though Pakistan have beaten New Zealand in successive World Twenty20 events in 2007 and 2009, Southee believed the one-day result will provide a confidence boost for the Black Caps.

"Pakistan have proved they're a great Twenty20 outfit - they're the world champions - and they've got the wood over us in the last few outings," he said.

"But hopefully we can carry some momentum from the ODIs into the Twenty20 series and continue the form we've shown in the last couple of matches."

That series win almost didn't happen, of course, thanks to the remarkable 10th-wicket stand of 103 between Mohammad Aamer (73 not out) and Saeed Ajmal (33) yesterday.

Southee admitted that while logic said Pakistan should never win the match, there were doubts creeping in before Ajmal was dismissed in the final over.

"With them being nine down it was a question of saying it would only take one ball so we were pretty confident it would happen at some stage," said the 20 year-old who impressed with two for 26 in his 10 over-spell.

"Then again, when it got to within 20 or 30 runs, everyone was a bit nervous and it gave us a bit of a scare.

"If they had been eight down then it might have been a different story but we were only ever one ball away from that last wicket."

Southee has spent the series occupying the same slot as Ajmal, propping up the bating line-up at number 11 despite scoring 77 not out from only 40 balls on test debut against England in Napier in March 2008.

And he is keen to move up the order and realise his potential with the bat as soon as he can.

"I'd love to get as far as I can with my batting," he said

"You look at someone like Daniel Vettori, his batting over the last few years has been outstanding and it just shows you it can be done as he started at 10 or 11 when he was a youngster.

"It's not going to happen overnight and hopefully slowly it progresses.

"It's something I'm willing to work on as I don't want to be batting at number 11 too much longer."

Watch New Zealand v Pakistan, Champions Trophy Semi-Final Live Streaming

New Zealand v Pakistan, Champions Trophy, semi-final, Jo'burg

Injury-hit NZ face volatile opponents

October 2, 2009

Younis Khan: "We need two more good days"

Match facts

Saturday, 03 Oct 2009

			New Zealand Vs Pakistan
Venue :2nd Semi Final Match, New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (D/N) Live action starts from: 12:30 GMT (18:00 IST) ODI ICC Champions Trophy 2009 One Day International Match

Saturday, October 3, 2009
Start time 1430 (1230 GMT)

Sri Lanka will now be a distant memory for these two teams. Leading into this tournament, both Pakistan and New Zealand took turns in getting battered and bruised in the heat and humidity of Sri Lanka. They came to South Africa with doubts looming over their ability to stick it out with other teams in formats longer than Twenty20. Both duly won their Twenty20s in Sri Lanka, and lost both Tests and ODIs comprehensively.

The weather in South Africa has been different, and so have been the results. New Zealand extracted swift revenge, knocking Sri Lanka out. But with every passing match they seem to be losing one player to injury. During their must-win game against England, Grant Elliot joined Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder and Daryl Tuffey on the injured list, and Scott Styris has been flown in as a stand-by. Their travel agent won't mind flying another man in, if that means making it to the next stage.

Their opponents have no such problems. Unlike their famous triumphs, the 1992 World Cup and the World Twenty20 earlier this year, Pakistan have looked solid from the off in South Africa. They have looked more like the Pakistan of the 1999 World Cup. Their bowling attack has appeared the most settled, the most varied, and the most skilful of the lot in this tournament. Their batting is the weak link - it has fluctuated from very good, against India, to circumspect, against Australia and West Indies. If Pakistan lose the toss and are put in at the Wanderers, that passage of play will be New Zealand's best chance of making this a close contest.

On paper Pakistan are favourites, and over the years they have used New Zealand as a stepping-stone in big tournaments. In 1992, New Zealand's first defeat in the World Cup opened doors for Pakistan's progress to the semi-final, where they were beaten by the same opposition. The semi-finals of the 1999 World Cup and 2007 World Twenty20 were a repeat. In the World Twenty20 in 2009, it was against New Zealand that Pakistan discovered momentum, and never lost it. New Zealand supporters, though, would want to look back at the semi-final of the Champions Trophy in 2000, when they beat Pakistan, and went on to win the final too.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

Pakistan - LWWWW
New Zealand - WWLLL

Team news

Imran Nazir is fit and should take Misbah-ul-Haq's place. The difficult problem is one that other teams would kill for: does Mohammad Asif go out for Mohammad Aamer? Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Umar Gul will be difficult to keep out too. If the Wanderers pitch looks especially green, they could go in with four fast bowlers too. What a throwback it would be but that's unlikely to happen if the pitch is dry.

Pakistan: (probable): 1 Imran Nazir, 2 Kamran Akmal, 3 Younis Khan (capt), 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Mohammad Yousuf, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, 9 Mohammad Aamer, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Umar Gul.

New Zealand don't have such problems of plenty. The batting looks amazingly thin in Ryder's absence. Aaron Redmond, who was too jetlagged to play the previous game, should come in. "Grant took part in training this morning and the injection to see how it's going - the injection works when he bats but not when he bowls," Daniel Vettori said. "We'll leave it till the last possible minute before making a decision."

New Zealand (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum (wk), 2 Aaron Redmond, 3 Martin Guptill, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Neil Broom, 6 Grant Elliot/Scott Styris, 7 James Franklin, 8 Daniel Vettori (capt), 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Shane Bond, 11 Ian Butler.

Watch out for...

Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor are two of the most experienced batsmen in the New Zealand line-up. How well they strike a balance between attacking and anchoring will be key to their team's chances.

Younis Khan has stalled his team's momentum twice in the two matches he has batted. He is the kind of captain who wants to earn respect as a player first, and will be under pressure to set that record straight on a pitch that is likely to test the techniques of Pakistan's batsmen.

Pitch and conditions

Vettori expects a pitch similar to the one New Zealand scored 300-plus on against Sri Lanka. "Looks like the Sri Lanka wicket, lots of runs in it. If so we're going to have to step up with the bat." There's only a 40% chance of rain but if the match is washed out, New Zealand will go through by the virtue of having topped Group B.

Stats and trivia

• Both teams have made it to at least the semi-finals of three of the last four world events. New Zealand lost in the semi-finals of the 2007 World Cup and the World Twenty20 in the same year. Pakistan lost the final of the 2007 World Twenty20, and won the next edition of the same tournament.

• Pakistan have met New Zealand nine times in ODIs in world events, and have won six.

• All four day-night matches at the Wanderers in this tournament have been won by the chasing team.

• Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi have bowled 51.2 overs between them in this tournament, for 203 runs and 10 wickets.

Quotes

"In the semi-final, it doesn't matter who you play against, or where you play, because it is a big game. Pressure is not only on us, but also on New Zealand. If we get through two more games we are the champions."
Younis Khan knows the importance of the occasion.

"Momentum is with us I think. It's a much preferable way to go into the semi-final, knowing we've won two big games, qualified top - where in the past we have scraped through - and go into the Pakistan game with confidence."
Daniel Vettori draws confidence from the same ground and conditions where his team has won two in a row.

Charismatic Pakistan live to fight

New Zealand v Pakistan, ICC World Twenty20, The Oval

Charismatic Pakistan live to fight

June 13, 2009

Pakistan 100 for 4 (Shahzaib 35, Afridi 29*, Vettori 2-20) beat New Zealand 99 (Gul 5-6, Razzaq 2-17) by six wickets

How they were out

	New Zealand batsmen were clueless against the accuracy and late swing of Umar Gul

Pakistan have bitten another bullet, in style. At the toss Younis Khan seemed relieved, almost trying to suppress laughter, when he called this a do-or-die match. It was as if he liked that there was no choice left, and his team showed they relished being in such a situation. By the end of the night, Pakistan had done, and left dying for another time. Abdul Razzaq, formerly a pariah and now making a comeback to official cricket after two years, struck with the fourth ball he bowled, and then in his third over to skittle the New Zealand top order, which was followed by Umar Gul's destruction. Gul was on a hat-trick twice and also became the first bowler to take a five-for in Twenty20 internationals.

Those two spells sandwiched a period when the spinners choked the life out of the middle order as a weakened New Zealand, missing Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor, stumbled to a meagre total on a belter of a pitch at The Oval. Debutant opener Shahzaib Hasan threatened to finish the match in a hurry, but the New Zealand spinners did well to delay the end of the match, and make sure Pakistan didn't run away with a hefty net run-rate, which will come handy in case New Zealand beat Sri Lanka.

How Pakistan would want to thank BCCI for the "amnesty" it accorded the ICL players. For Pakistan had bowled yet another ordinary first over; the first and last balls, from Mohammad Aamer, were boundaries, in between there was poor fielding and no dot balls. Had even Razzaq got off to a poor start, Pakistan would have had to bring Gul on early, which is not their original game plan. But Razzaq got Brendon McCullum before he could cause severe damage, and then Martin Guptill with a trademark straight delivery that the batsman missed. He exulted with arms aloft, more of a reaction than you can usually draw from Razzaq. Welcome back, Pakistan cricket was poorer without Razzaq.

Razzaq's first wicket was the first dot ball of the innings, but by the time Aamer and Razzaq were done with their three-over spells, New Zealand had barely doubled their score at 1.3 overs. Time, then, for spinners to come on. For the first time with the medium-pacers having put them in a favourable position. Time also it was for the fielders to raise their game, which they did. Diving saves, hustling fielders, and accurate bowling meant that Scott Styris and Jacob Oram struggled even to rotate the strike.

When it got too much for Oram, he stepped out to Shahid Afridi, in the 10th over, and skied a faster delivery. At the end of that over, Afridi's figures read 2-0-3-1. And because the opening bowlers did their job, Younis had Gul saved up for the last eight overs. At 72 for 4 after 12 overs, New Zealand had their task cut out, facing the yorkers from Gul and trying to accelerate.

Styris tried to put Gul off his rhythm right in his first over, and all he managed was a top edge to long-on. But this was Afridi's moment. He ran from mid-on, his eye on the ball falling over his head, his hands stretching out at the right moment and finishing the catch metres inside the boundary. Pakistan fielding had come a long way from being the laughing stocks of the tournament.

Following that dismissal, it was all Gul, his accuracy and his late swing. Peter McGlashan tried to paddle him next ball, but was undone by the in-dipper. James Franklin saved the hat-trick, but couldn't deny the irresistible Gul for long. With a change of ends, he cleaned up Nathan McCullum and Franklin with straight and fast bowling. Kyle Mills, though, fell to a slower one, giving Gul the five-for and another chance for a hat-trick. The hat-trick didn't come, but New Zealand managed just 27 since Gul's introduction to the attack. Once the euphoria of this performance dies, Pakistan will want to thank the man returning to international cricket for allowing them to go ahead with their preferred bowling strategy.

It was the best environment for a 19-year-old making his debut. Shahzaib was eased into the chase, Kamran Akmal facing the first 12 balls of the innings. Turned out Shahzaib didn't need any shielding. He got off the mark with a free-hit, but showed glimpses of his potential in the subsequent overs, lofting Daniel Vettori for a six down the ground, and cutting and pulling with aplomb during his quick 35.

With Afridi batting responsibly, Vettori's guile and athletic fielding only fought the inevitable.