ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan cricket team will be gunning for a victory against New Zealand tonight, Monday, as the two teams clash at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium for the fifth and final T20I of the five-match bilateral series.
Pakistan, who cruised to victories over the Black Caps in the first and second T20Is by 88 runs and 38 runs, respectively, ended up losing the third match of the series by a narrow four runs. New Zealand were 164/5 during the fourth match of the series when the heavens parted and rain interrupted play. With only one match to go, Pakistan are 2-1 up, which means the home side can either win or draw the series but not lose from here.
New Zealand would be on the lookout for fiery pacer Haris Rauf, who has consistently clocked in over 145kph for the green shirts and from four matches in the series so far, taken an impressive 11 wickets. While skipper Babar Azam has been the pick of the batters courtesy of a stellar century, batter Iftikhar Ahmed was exceptionally dangerous in the third T20I between the two sides. He almost won the match for Pakistan when all looked lost, scoring a whirlwind 60 from 24 balls in the third match which the Black Caps won by the slimmest of margins.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had earlier announced that the gate money from the fifth and final T20 between Pakistan and New Zealand will be donated to the earthquake victims in Türkiye and Syria. The PCB said it would play its part in raising donations for millions of people affected on either side of the Türkiye and Syria border by joining hands with the Punjab Government. The Pakistan side, on the other hand, will wear commemorative caps to convey Pakistan’s everlasting solidarity to the two nations.
Pakistan squad:
Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan †, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zaman Khan
New Zealand squad:
Tom Latham † (c), Chad Bowes, Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver †, Matt Henry, Ben Lister, Cole McConchie, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Will Young