Match prediction for New Zealand vs Pakistan 3rd T20I in Auckland.
The third T20I between New Zealand and Pakistan is scheduled to be played on Friday, March 21. Pakistan will be hoping to keep the series alive when they take on the hosts at Eden Park in Auckland, with the action set to begin at 11:45 AM IST.
Check out our analysis for the NZ vs PAK match with the top betting tips and predictions.
Here are some of the best bets for this New Zealand vs Pakistan match.
Tim Seifert has been in excellent form in the ongoing series. He scored 44 off 29 in the opening game and followed it up with 45 off 22. Expect him to get a good start in this game as well.
New Zealand have Tim Seifert and Finn Allen at the top of the order. Both have been in good touch. Seifert has scored 89 runs in two innings while Allen has struck 67. Pakistan’s top order, on the other hand, has struggled badly.
Salman Agha was the best batter for Pakistan in the last game, scoring a superb 46 off 28. With plenty of inexperience in the side, he remains their best bet with the bat.
Eden Park, Auckland is an excellent venue for batting with flat pitches and short boundaries helping the batters further. The average first innings score at the venue stands at 180 in the last five T20 games. You can expect a high score here if New Zealand bats first.
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These two teams have played 46 matches in T20 cricket. Pakistan have claimed 23 of those games while New Zealand have won 21 T20Is. The Black Caps lead the last five encounters by 4-1.
The home side thrashed Pakistan in the second game in Dunedin to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Jacob Duffy, Ben Sears, Ish Sodhi, and Jimmy Neesham bagged two wickets each as they restricted the visitors to 135/9 in a rain-affected 15-over contest. Tim Seifert then hit 45 off 22 while Finn Allen blasted 38 off 16 to help the team chase down the target with ease. New Zealand made a couple of changes in the previous game, bringing in Neesham and Sears for Tim Robinson and Kyle Jamieson.
Possible XI: Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Hay (wk), Michael Bracewell (c), Zakary Foulkes, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears.
Pakistan had a better outing in the second game but it wasn’t enough to get them a win. Captain Salman Agha struck 46 off 28 while Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi made handy 20s to get a decent score in their 15 overs. Defending the total, their new-ball pairing was taken to the cleaners. Khushdil Shah picked one wicket for 16 in three overs while Haris Rauf snared two for 20 in his three. But, they had lost the game in the powerplay itself. Pakistan left out Abrar Ahmed in the last game but expect him to be back.
Possible XI: Mohammad Haris (wk), Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha (c), Irfan Khan, Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Khushdil Shah, Jahandad Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
Check out the details of where to watch the New Zealand vs Pakistan 3rd T20I match.
The team batting first has won six out of the last eight games played here. However, the teams will still like to chase with pitches being flat. Expect the captain winning the toss to field first.
Take a look at the weather forecast, key matchup, and favourites to get a better picture of the match.
The weather in Auckland is likely to be mostly cloudy on Friday evening. Rain should not be an issue with the radar showing only a 2% chance of precipitation. There will be high humidity at around 80%, with wind gusts travelling at up to 19 kmph. The temperature is expected to range between 13 to 18 degrees Celsius.
New Zealand will continue to be the heavy favourites ahead of this match as per the betting markets. NZ have an 80% chance of winning the third T20I.
Tim Seifert vs Shaheen Afridi could be an interesting contest in the powerplay. In T20 internationals, Seifert has smashed 127 runs in 83 deliveries against the left-arm pacer while losing his wicket five times.
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