World Cup 2019: Pakistan bid to blemish New Zealand’s pristine record

The Kiwis haven't lost a single game in World Cup 2019 but haven't faced an 'unpredictable' opponent like Pakistan either

By Zohaib Ahmed Majeed
June 25, 2019
Mohammad Amir (L) and Kane Williamson (R) have carried their teams so far in World Cup 2019. — Photo: AFP/File

The unbeaten New Zealand take on the thrice-beaten Pakistan in a World Cup 2019 clash on Wednesday that means so much to the latter but not so much to the former — and for obvious reasons.

The Kiwis could lose this and it wouldn’t do anything to their semi-final chances. Heck, they could lose another few and will probably still qualify, thanks to not having lost any yet. All they need is a single win from their final three games to seal qualification.

Pakistan do not have any of that luxury. They have already lost as many as they could afford to. Lose another and lose the slim chance to qualify. This and all others that follow are must-win fixtures in the truest sense of the word.

Routes taken

New Zealand have yet to lose in World Cup 2019 but it’s not like they did not come close. Of their five victories so far, only two can be called dominant, and both came against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan — neither top-ranked opponent. The other three wins could have gone either way. Those three slim wins were against Bangladesh, South Africa and West Indies — again hardly top-ranked sides.

The only time they were supposed to face a true heavyweight in India, rain played spoilsport. Bottom line is that as pristine a record as New Zealand’s is, they were a wicket here or a shot there away from losing on three occasions, and they haven’t been pitted against a truly top side.

While New Zealand have made the most of their generous World Cup 2019 scheduling and rain, Pakistan have done exactly the opposite. They were expected to beat West Indies and Sri Lanka, but they lost to former and rain kept them from beating the latter. They weren’t expected to beat either of India and Australia, and they didn’t. But they weren’t expected to beat England, yet they did. Against South Africa, they earned a far more comfortable win than New Zealand who had to fight till the final over.

Players to watch out for

Kane Williamson is averaging a staggering 186.5 runs in World Cup 2019. In five outings he has a fifty, two centuries and just as many man-of-the-match awards. The Kiwi captain is a genuine contender for player of the tournament.

Another early contender for the same award is Mohammad Amir. With 15 wickets, the Pakistan pacer is only the joint-highest wicket taker of World Cup 2019 at this point, but he has played lesser matches than both Jofra Archer and Mitchell Starc, has lower average and economy rate but a higher strike rate. His line and length had never left him but his swing was missing, and that too is back.

Head to head

The two teams have played each other 106 times in ODI cricket, with Pakistan winning 54 and New Zealand 48 matches. One was tied and three produced no results. In World Cups, the record is more one-sided, with Pakistan winning five of their seven meetings.

The two teams last met towards the end of last year in a bilateral series in the UAE. The three-match series had ended in a 1-1 draw as the third game was hit by rain.

Team news

Both sides have a clean bill of health and neither is expected to make any changes to the line-ups that started their respective last matches, barring any late injuries.

Shaheeh Shah Afridi was again expensive against South Africa but with Hasan Ali woefully out of form and Mohammad Hasnain extremely raw, he is expected to retain his place in the playing eleven.

Prediction

As pointed above, New Zealand have an almost perfect record in World Cup 2019 but it’s not like they have been any sort of juggernaut. They’ve played well when they had to, for which the deserve credit but they have not been steamrolling anyone, or anyone impressive at least.

Pakistan, with their tails moderately up, with their better record, with their players done making all kinds of mistake imaginable, should take this one.

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