New Zealand play host to Pakistan in a pre-Christmas T20 series and the tourists look a good bet to come out on top over the three matches.
The series gets underway on Friday (6am GMT start) with the first match taking place at Eden Park in Auckland and Pakistan will be without their skipper Babar Azam, which is part of the reason why New Zealand are 20/39 favs to win the opening match while the tourists are 27/20.
Azam misses the three-match series due to a fractured thumb and his absence will be felt, especially as he’s ranked number two in the T20 batting standings.
Pakistan though are still strong enough in the batting department to cause the hosts problems, with Mohammad Hafeez tipped to replace Azam at the top of the order – Hafeez is 3/1 to be Pakistan’s Top Batsman in the opener.
Despite fitness concerns over Shadab Kahn, the all-rounder is expected to play in the opener as Pakistan seek a fifth consecutive T20 victory. In fact, Misbah-ul-Haq’s men have won six of their last seven matches in the shortest format of the game.
Afridi to Make Bowling Impact
Pakistan showed against England, when drawing the T20 series, that they can mix it with the best and conditions in New Zealand are likely to be similar to those they found in the UK.
Their pace bowling options could prove vital and the wickets are likely to do a bit for the seamers, the likes of Wahab Riaz and Shaheen Afridi – who is 16/1 to be named Man of the Match in the first game – expected to thrive.
New Zealand have won just four of their last 12 T20 internationals on home soil, but that does include back-to-back wins over West Indies last month.
Conway Eager to Keep Impressing
Devon Conway impressed with the bat during that series, smashing 41 and 65 in those two matches against the Windies, while Glenn Phillips recorded a century in the second T20 win. A hundred to be scored in the first T20 is available at 11/2.
The head-to-head stats favour the tourists, who have won five of their last six meetings against the Black Caps – including a 2-1 series success in New Zealand in 2018.
The same scoreline in this three-match series can be backed at 5/2, while a 2-1 victory for the hosts is available at 6/4.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
