The third ODI between New Zealand and Pakistan takes place on Saturday or if you are in the western part of the world it begins on Friday night. Having claimed a 2-0 lead in the rain affected series, New Zealand have the chance to wrap it up with a win in Dunedin.
Pakistan know that they have to win three on the bounce if they are going to land the series and that needs to begin with victory at the University Oval.
New Zealand
It has been smooth going for New Zealand so far in the series with their bowling attack decimating the Pakistan top order on two occasions and from there they have been comfortable. We saw in the opening match that their batting line up is in decent form. There isn’t really anyone who has not contributed for the Kiwis thus far.
I wouldn’t think New Zealand will be looking to change too much for this match. They may need to guard against a bit of complacency but this is a pretty efficient outfit in their own conditions and they are running up a decent form of form here which is important with plenty more cricket still to come this summer.
Pakistan
The Champions Trophy winners will have made the trip to New Zealand full of beans and high on confidence after an excellent run of form in the 50 over format but they have been unable to stamp their authority on the opening two matches and need something of an upturn in form if they are to keep the series alive.
The big area where the tourists need a contribution is their top order. Fakhar Zaman has looked in good order on this trip but when he was missing in the second game they looked all at sea. That is a surprise because the records of Azhar Ali and Babar Azam is as good as anything there is in this format.
Team News
New Zealand have Colin de Grandhomme back in the squad after he has spent time away from cricket due to a family bereavement. Whether there is a route back in for him remains to be seen though.
Pakistan are hoping to have Fakhar Zaman back after he missed the previous match. He would return in place of Imam-ul-Haq. Rumman Raees hasn’t offered too much thus far so he could be replaced.
University Oval
There have been just seven previous ODIs held on this ground and this will be the first since the World Cup in 2015. New Zealand have won each of the five matches they have played here while Pakistan will be competing on this ground for the first time.
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Betting
I began the series thinking Pakistan would be value at certain points in it but I’ve re-evaluated my thoughts based on what we’ve seen so far but I’m still not yet in the position where I want to be chasing short prices on the home side.
If Pakistan are to get back in the match Hasan Ali could be a big player. We saw his pyrotechnics with the bat in the previous match but his bowling is up there with the best there is in this format so I’m slightly surprised that he has a performance line of just 37.5pts. A couple of wickets covers that as does an innings like we saw in Nelson. A mixture of average day with the bat and the ball also sees it covered so I like the over here.
Tips
WON – Back H.Ali’s Performance – Over 37.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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