With just 69 days to go for the World Cup 2015, both Pakistan and New Zealand will look to make the most of the five-match ODI series that begins on December 8th at Dubai. Both sides did pretty well in Tests and T20s but both the trophies got shared. With the nature of skies expected to remain the same as it was in Tests and T20s, we’ll surely see a result to this ODI series.
New Zealand:
New Zealand are going in this series without some of their key players. Regular captain Brendon McCullum has been rested to give him some time to freshen up for the Sri Lankan series and the World Cup. Fast-bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult have also been rested after the gruelling Test series. Both bowled their heart-out in all the matches and were the important factors in New Zealand’s Test win at Sharjah.
The absence of both Southee and Boult will allow the likes of Adam Milne and Matt Henry to make full use of the chances they get in this series. Both of them have impressed in the chances they have got till now and this series will decide as who makes a strong case for himself for the World Cup.
New Zealand’s batting looks almost settled and their stand-in skipper Kane Williamson will look to the lead from the front at number three. They bat deep and with Luke Ronchi in red-hot form, Pakistan bowlers will have to bowl really well if they are to stop New Zealand from posting a big total.
Pakistan:
Pakistan have been whitewashed by Sri Lanka and Australia in the past three months. It would be fair to say that they have failed to perform as a unit. In the series against Australia, their middle-order performed very badly. The good starts given by Ahmed Shehzad and Sarfraz Ahmed were literally wasted by the inconsistent performances from Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Amin and Umar Akmal. Fawad Alam did play well but shockingly he hasn’t been included in the squad for this series and PCB hasn’t even given justification for his omission.
Fawad Alam’s place will be taken by Younis Khan, who has been recalled to the squad on the strong performances in Tests. It will be interesting to see how Younis Khan plays in this series. He would have to change gears accordingly and if he is successful in doing that, Pakistan’s middle-order problems will somewhat get solved.
Sohaib Maqsood will miss this series due to a wrist injury. Both Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz have made a comeback to the squad from injuries and will look to perform well and get in shape before the all important World Cup.
Playing XI for New Zealand:
Dean Brownlie, Anton Devcich, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, Luke Ronchi, Jimmy Neesham, Nathan McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne
Playing XI for Pakistan:
Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Mohammad Irfan
Time (IST): 4:30pm