Pakistan vs New Zealand, 1st T20I : Fantasy Cricket Tips
After demolishing Australia 3-0, Pakistan will be eyeing 11th consecutive T20I series win against New Zealand. Pakistan seem to be unstoppable at the moment in the T20 format and are the number 1 ranked team.
On the other hand, New Zealand played their last International match way back in March 2018. So it has been seven months since New Zealand haven't played any International match but some of their players were part of various T20 leagues around the globe.
Match Date : 31st October 2018
Time : 20:00 Local Time
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Expected Playing XI
Pakistan
They shouldn't tinker with the XI that played against Australia in the last match. It is also likely that either Usman Khan or Shaheen Afridi will play.
Expected XI : Babar Azam, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (w/c), Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan/Shaheen Afridi.
Pakistan Squad: Babar Azam, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed(w/c), Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Hussain Talat, Shaheen Afridi, Waqas Maqsood
New Zealand
Guptill isn't in the squad because of his injury which could mean that Glenn Philips will open along with Colin Munro. New Zealand might play left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel on this slow Abu Dhabi pitch.
Expected Playing XI: Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Mark Chapman, Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ajaz Patel, Lockie Ferguson/Adam Milne.
New Zealand Squad: Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips(w), Kane Williamson(c), Ross Taylor, Mark Chapman, Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ajaz Patel, Lockie Ferguson, Adam Milne, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert.
Fantasy Cricket Tips:
The match will be played on a low scoring pitch of Abu Dhabi so try to take more all-rounders and bowlers
Wicket Keeper: Glenn Philips
Based on their current form Glenn Philips will be a better choice for your Wicket Keeper instead of Sarfaraz Ahmed. Philips' presence behind the stumps is quite good and he has performed well in the CPL and the T20 series against Pakistan A.
As far as Sarfaraz Ahmed is concerned, his present T20 form isn't so good. Hence, Philips can fetch you more points than Sarfaraz.
Batsmen: Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, Colin Munro, Shoaib Malik and Ross Taylor.
Babar Azam is ranked at number 1 in ICC T20I and he is having a dream run in the format. His last five T20I scores are 50, 45, 68*, 51 And 97* which makes him a must pick. Kane Williamson is very good T20 batsmen and he was the Orange cap winner in IPL 2018.
He is a good player when it comes to spin so he can give you some useful points on this slow Abu Dhabi pitch. Colin Munro is one of the best T20 batsmen at the moment and has scored three T20I centuries. His performance in the recently concluded Afghanistan Premier League was very poor but he was the leading run scorer in CPL 2018. Ross Taylor and Shoaib Malik are good middle order batsmen and can give you some useful points. So you can pick any four of these batsmen.
All-Rounder: Mohammad Hafeez, Colin de Grandhomme and Imad Wasim
Mohammad Hafeez was in a good form with the bat in the T20I series against Australia. He can give you points with both his batting and bowling. Imad Wasim bowled well in his comeback series and he can bat as well which will allow you to gain some useful points with his skills. Colin de Grandhomme is a hard-hitting batsman and a good medium pacer who will give you points for sure so he should be in your fantasy XI.
Bowler : Shadab Khan, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Hasan Ali
We all know how good a T20 player Shadab Khan is. He can easily pick 1-2 wickets and fetch points. He can also bring you more points if he has to bat.
Ish Sodhi is a very good leg spinner and can easily pick some wickets on this slow pitch. So these two leg spinners must be there in your fantasy XI.
Tim Southee and Hasan Ali are very good bowlers. Southee can bring in points with his batting as well while Hasan Ali will be widely dependant on his bowling. So pick wisely between these two players.