Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey

NZ vs PAK 1st T20I Preview Dream11 Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | NZ vs PAK 1st T20 Dream11 Prediction Today | New Zealand vs Pakistan 1st T20I Key Players | Eden Park Auckland Pitch Report

After COVID drama and some doubt about whether this series will go ahead, the action is set to get underway at the typically high-scoring Eden Park in Auckland.

New Zealand, fresh off very successful T20I and Test assignments against West Indies, tackle Pakistan, who will be looking to make a positive start to the series. Some big names, namely Kane Williamson and Babar Azam, will be missing for a variety of reasons, which makes this series an opportunity for some of the inexperienced players to shine.

Also, can Pakistan put distractions, such as Mohammad Amir’s retirement, to the side? The most important question, however, is whether Pakistan can compete effectively without Babar Azam. The Pakistani captain has been superb in this format over the course of his career to date, so replacing him requires a team effort. For New Zealand, they will be missing key bowlers, so the battle between they and Pakistan’s newcomers will make for an interesting watch.

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

New Zealand:

• Jimmy Neesham — After a forgettable IPL performance, the New Zealand All-Rounder was at very best both with both bat and the ball against the West Indies in the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand. To add more to his case he will be playing at his home ground and he also took three wickets and scored seven runs when he played against Pakistan last time.
• Glenn Philips — The 24-year-old dashing batsman showed his class by hammering 108 off 51 balls at Bay Oval and will look to replicate his form at Eden Park. Also, he plays for Auckland Aces, who play their home games at the same venue during Super Smash. The experience of playing at Eden Park can be quite handy.
• Martin Guptill — The Big man likes playing against Pakistan and he Averages 33.07 against the Men in Green which is slightly above his career average of 32.32. Also, Kane Williamson rested, and Ross Taylor dropped the squad puts more responsibility on him.

Pakistan:

• Mohammad Hafeez – There were many questions over Hafeez inclusion in the last T20I series when Pakistan played their last series against England but the Pakistani Legend answered them by winning the Man of the Series and the absence of Babar Azam put more responsibility on him to perform.
• Shadab Khan — This will be the first time Shabad Khan will be leading Pakistan in any format and he would love to lead from the front and replicate the form he showed in the Pakistan Super League.
• Shaheen Shah Afridi — Shaheen has been emerging as one of the best all-format bowlers and this will be the first time he will be playing at New Zealand after his massive U-19 World Cup performance was also held in New Zealand.

Punt Pick

Haris Rauf- One of the most talked T20 bowler of this year after his impressive performance last year BBL would like to replicate his performance in similar conditions.

Possible Playing 11

Kane Williamson is on paternity leave. Lockie Ferguson is out with injury. Details here.

Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson, and Daryl Mitchell have been rested for the First T20I while the Blackcaps Veteran batsman Ross Taylor was dropped from the T20 squad.

Jacob Duffy is expected to make his T20I debut in the first T20I who is full of confidence coming back after an impressive summer.

New Zealand: 1. Martin Guptill, 2. Tim Seifert (wk), 3. Devon Conway, 4. Glenn Phillips, 5. Mark Chapman, 6. James Neesham, 7. Mitchell Santner (c), 8. Scott Kuggelejin, 9. Blair Tickner/Todd Astle, 10. Ish Sodhi, 11. Jacob Duffy

Babar Azam was been ruled out of the T20I series due to a thumb injury and Shadab Khan will lead the side in his absence who would like to capitalize on his experience of playing at Eden Park.

Pakistan: 1. Abdullah Shafique, 2. Haider Ali, 3. Khushdil Shah, 4. Mohammad Hafeez, 5. Imad Wasim, 6. Faheem Ashraf/Hussain Talat, 7. Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8. Shadab Khan (c), 9. Wahab Riaz, 10. Haris Rauf, 11. Shaheen Shah Afridi

Eden Park Auckland Pitch Report and Weather

The pitch in Auckland has been an absolute belter for batting over the years. Another high-scoring affair seems to be on the cards under the lights. Teams might opt to bat second as the track isn’t expected to change much during the contest. No rain is forecast.

Dream11 Prediction

Option 1:

Option 2:

Match Prediction

New Zealand is coming on the back of a 2–0 win against the West Indies, but they have lost their 5 T20I against Pakistan. Although Pakistan batting looks weak without Babar Azam the World-class bowling attack compromising of Shaheen, Haris, Wahab, and Shadab should make up for that, and Pakistan is expected to win this one.

Thanks for reading.