On a normal day, no match coinciding with England vs Australia would get greater emphasis and in turn, grab more eyeballs. But that would be the case on Saturday, considering the existing semifinal qualification scenario at the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup.
Before the arch-rivals begin their duel at Ahmedabad, New Zealand and Pakistan will start the day with a vital clash at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The equation for Babar Azam’s men is simple: win and keep their semifinal qualification chances alive. Lose and it’s all over.
The Men in Green have had a lot to deal with, both on and off the field but will come into the game high on confidence after beating Bangladesh by seven wickets at Kolkata.
New Zealand began their tournament by winning the first four matches. But their campaign has hit a trough at a crucial juncture and they come to Bengaluru on the back of three straight defeats to India, Australia and South Africa.
To make matters worse, the loss to South Africa by 190 runs at Pune also affected their net run-rate and so, they must win and win well on Saturday to safeguard their qualification chances.
Matt Henry’s hamstring injury was bad enough to rule him out of the tournament and Kyle Jamieson, who was a travelling reserve with the side, was roped in as a replacement on Thursday.
Both teams have played out some pulsating contests in the past, but the significance of this game is possibly as high as in 1992, when they played in the semifinal at Auckland which Pakistan won by four wickets. If the game on Saturday is half as good as that, then the fans would have had their money’s worth.
What: New Zealand vs Pakistan, Match 35, ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
When: November 4, 2023, 10:30 am IST.
Where: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
New Zealand
After Kane Williamson’s injury in the match against Bangladesh at Chennai, some eyes may have turned skywards in prayer over who would form New Zealand’s batting core.
ICC World Cup: Schedule | Results | Points Table | Most Runs | Most Wickets
Luckily, Rachin Ravindra, perhaps the most impressive top-order batter in the tournament and Daryl Mitchell, arguably the world’s most improved batter across all three formats have ensured that the Kiwis have not missed their talisman. The former is the third-highest run-getter in the tournament so far with 415 runs in seven matches while the latter has made 346 runs with a hundred against India.
Likely playing XI: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c & wk), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.
Pakistan
Pakistan have been as Pakistan as possible, in this tournament. From the highs of chasing 345 runs against Sri Lanka at the start of the tournament to the lows of losing comprehensively to Afghanistan, the pendulum has swung from one side to another.
As a result, now they find themselves in faultless territory and need to bring out their best version on Saturday.
Likely Playing XI: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Shaheen Afridi, Usama Mir, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf.
QUOTES
“Yeah, look, of course it is. It is based on and during the Calcutta chase, I had every scenario in my pocket as to if we won in 25 overs, if we won in 26 overs, 27 overs. So, we kind of knew as to how we were going to eat into the net run rate of particularly New Zealand,”- Mickey Arthur on the side keeping a tab on the qualification scenario.
“Look, they’re a world-class team and they have been for a long time. Yes, we’ve played a lot of cricket against them, which is awesome for us. We loved touring Pakistan a few months ago and to be able to take them on here now in the World Cup’s cool,”-Daryl Mitchell on facing Pakistan on Saturday.
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