Shaheen Shah Afridi won the toss and opted to bowl first for the second T20I between Pakistan and New Zealand which will be played at the Seddon Park, Hamilton on Sunday.
The Green Shirts named an unchanged playing XI from the first match which they lost by 46 runs. On the other hand, the Black Caps replaced Matt Henry with Mitchell Santner, who was ruled out of the first T20I with a last-minute injury.
The home side possesses a 1-0 lead for the five-match T20I series.
“Abbas [Afridi] debut was a positive sign, hope he continues in that manner. We have to improve more in fielding, this wicket looks fine, ground measurement is decent and this match will be good, going with an unchanged team,” Shaheen said after winning the toss.
On the other hand, New Zealand’s skipper, Kane Williamson, confirmed the inclusion of the left-arm off-spinner Santner.
“I thought the first half was good, bowlers executed their plans well. We start again and go back to what’s in front of us, different venues and different conditions. Mitchell Santner comes in for Matt Henry,” Williamson said.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan (wk), Aamer Jamal, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi (c), Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears
Schedule of remaining matches
2nd T20 – 14 January 2024 at Seddon Park, Hamilton
3rd T20 – 17 January 2024 at University Oval, Dunedin
4th T20 – 19 January 2024 at Hagley Oval, Christchurch
5th T20 – 21 January 2024 at Hagley Oval, Christchurch
