Pakistan (PAK) will be hosting New Zealand (NZ) in the fourth T20I with hopes of sealing the five-match series at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday, April 20. Having sustained huge defeats in the opening two games, New Zealand secured a narrow four-run victory in the third match. Tom Latham scored his first T20I fifty against Pakistan and Daryl Mitchell added crucial 33 runs to help New Zealand score 163/5 while batting first.
Pakistan’s star openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan departed early but Iftikhar Ahmed, playing in the no.8 position, smashed 60 off just 24 balls with the help of three fours and six sixes to almost pull it off for the hosts. But, James Neesham defended 15 runs in the final over and also claimed two wickets to bowl out Pakistan’s innings.
Adam Milne and Mat Henry also impressed with the new ball while young spinner Rachin Ravindra took two wickets in the middle overs. Pakistan’s bowling attack was impressive as well with star pacers Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi picking two wickets each. The only concern for the hosts has been the dammed flow of runs in the middle order as the likes of Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, and Imad Wasim could be seen struggling for consistency in this series.
Check Live Score 👉 Pakistan vs New Zealand, 4th T20I – Live Cricket Score
PAK vs NZ Match Details
Pakistan vs New Zealand, 4th T20I Match, New Zealand tour of Pakistan 2023
Venue: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
Date & Time: April 20, 09:30 PM IST
Broadcast & Live Streaming Details: Sony Sports Network, SonyLiv App and browser
PAK vs NZ Pitch Report
With a flat surface, Rawalpindi’s pitch is expected to favour batters in the upcoming game. The average first innings score in T20I cricket here is 139, with teams bowling first winning all the three games played here. However, teams consistently scored 200-plus totals in matches played during the recently concluded Pakistan Super League 2023 which is why, fans could expect a high-scoring encounter in the upcoming match.
PAK vs NZ Probable Playing XIs
Pakistan (PAK)
Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Azam, Saim Ayub, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
New Zealand (NZ)
Tom Latham (c & wk), Chad Bowes, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Ben Lister
PAK vs NZ Probable Best Performers
Probable best batter
Babar Azam
The Pakistani skipper scored just one run after struggling to get it going in six deliveries in the third game. But, Babar otherwise remains in his usual best form as he recorded his third T20I century in the second game of this series. Babar was sensational in PSL 2023 as well where he scored 522 runs from just 11 innings at a strike rate of 145.40 with one century and five fifties for Peshawar Zalmi.
Probable best bowler
Haris Rauf
The Pakistani speedster failed to score winning runs off the last two balls in the last game but was excellent with the ball, picking up two valuable wickets while conceding just 31 runs. With Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi underperforming, Haris has taken 10 wickets from three innings in this series at an impressive economy rate of 6.60.
Today’s Match Prediction: Pakistan to win the match
Check here 👉 PAK vs NZ Dream11 Team Prediction