ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will be eyeing a comeback today, Thursday, in the fourth match of the T20I series against New Zealand in Lahore after suffering a defeat at the hands of a second-string Kiwi squad last week. 

Pakistan will head into today’s match against Michael Bracewell’s squad without star batter and wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan, who has been pulled from the series after he felt discomfort in his right hamstring. 

New Zealand are missing key players including Trent Boult and skipper Kane Williamson as they opted to play in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) while pulled out of the Pakistan series due to injuries. 

Despite that, the Kiwis managed to beat Pakistan on Sunday by seven wickets in Rawalpindi, shocking the 2009 T20I world champions on their own turf. 

“We did not lose because of any two or three players,” Pakistan captain Babar Azam said at a press conference in Lahore on Wednesday night. “We lost as a team. In the batting, bowling and fielding [areas] we did collapse a little.”

Pakistan’s premium fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi failed to impress against New Zealand in the third T20I. However, Azam backed both bowlers, describing them as Pakistan’s “best” bowlers. 

“They know how to make a comeback, even if it [bad performance] happens in one game. It is part of life,” he said. “It can’t happen that one person performs every single day.” 

The series is an important one for both sides as they gear up for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and USA scheduled to be held in June. 

The last match of the Pakistan-New Zealand series will be played in Lahore on May 27. Pakistan and New Zealand have both won one match against each other so far, with the first T20I fixture washed away by rain. 

The match begins at 7:30 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time.