Australia have been and gone and now it is the turn of New Zealand to head to the UAE to try and beat Pakistan in a T20 international series. They begin a three match battle in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday with both teams wanting to draw first blood.
New Zealand have had a warm up match for the series so they seem to be taking things seriously and given their ability for adjusting to conditions they can be expected to put up a much better showing than Australia did.
Pakistan
I would imagine complacency is the big concern for Pakistan. I say that because they have now won 11 consecutive T20 series so they could be forgiven for thinking that it is an easy game. If they ever do think that it will be then when they come unstuck so they need to maintain their focus and their strength of mind if they are going to extend their current unbeaten run.
We saw in the series with Australia that the strength of Pakistan is very much in their bowling attack and that is why they are unbeaten for so long. They have an attack that can perform in all types of conditions which is the sign of a good side. They also have a batting line up which plays the UAE conditions well, another indicator of a good side.
New Zealand
The Kiwis are the exact opposite to Pakistan. Pakistan have barely had a week off in the last couple of months whereas New Zealand have not played international cricket since April and although their players have been surfing the domestic T20 leagues you do wonder if they are going to need a run before we see them at their peak.
New Zealand are generally a side who bat deep and who have plenty of bowling options at their disposal. If we think back to the last T20 World Cup they were very competitive in Indian conditions with their spinners really turning up to the party so they are entitled to think they have every chance in this series.
Team News
Fakhar Zaman remains out for this match with the issue that caused him to miss Sunday’s match with Australia. Sahibzada Farhan should continue to open the batting. Shaheen Afridi could be rested for this one.
Glenn Phillips looks like he has earned the opening spot which means that Tim Seifert will sit this one out. Adam Milne could feature with the ball which means there may be no spot in the side for Seth Rance.
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Betting
We saw in the first T20 between Pakistan and Australia that this can be a very tough ground to score on, especially in the second innings. That was the match that Pakistan lost five wickets in no time and then had Australia 20 odd for six in landing a big win. That is generally the way matches on this ground go. That first innings was the only one in eight matches here that has seen a score beyond 150.
With that in mind I think going under on the sixes is the way forward. The line is 9.5 here and there has never been a total higher than that involving Pakistan on this ground. New Zealand only hit a much weaker UAE attack for five sixes in their warm up match. Both attacks are of good quality and both batting line ups lack pure hitters of the ball, with the exception of the New Zealand openers and even they aren’t exactly suited to these conditions. That line looks a touch too high to me. I’ll take the under.
Tips
WON – Back Under 9.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with 888sport
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