Team news, likely XIs, form guide, players to watch, odds, TV and streaming information, weather forecast, umpire appointments and everything else you need to know
Pakistan take on New Zealand in the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup.
The game is scheduled for 6pm local time (3pm BST) on Tuesday, October 26, 2021.
The game will be held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah.
Sharjah Cricket Stadium: Ground guide
Pakistan are riding the crest of a wave heading into their second match of the T20 World Cup after completing an historic victory over India. Babar Azam's side restricted India to 151 for 7 in Dubai before an unbroken 152-run stand between Azam and Mohammad Rizwan sealed a 10-wicket victory. Pakistan have now won seven of their past 10 completed T20Is.
For New Zealand, meanwhile, this is their first T20I since suffering a shock 3-2 series defeat against Bangladesh in September. Kane Williamson's side played two warm-up matches, losing to Australia by three wickets and England by 13 runs.
The two sides were due to meet in September before security concerns forced New Zealand to withdraw from Pakistan. Prior to that, their most recent series was in New Zealand in December 2020, which the home side won 2-1.
Dafabet have installed Pakistan as the favourites to win this match, offering odds of 7/10. New Zealand are available at 11/10.
Babar Azam might be the ICC's number two-ranked T20I batter, but it's his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan who is the player to watch with the bat. Ranked 71st on the T20 Player Index, Rizwan has scored a huge 831 runs in 15 innings in 2021 - 240 more than second-placed Azam - and has nine 50-plus knocks to his name this calendar year. And against India, he went big again, hogging the strike at the end of the innings to finish unbeaten on 79 off 55 balls and seal a famous 10-wicket win for his side. That said, do keep an eye on Azam, who scored 68 runs of his own against India and has a T20I average of 48.34.
With the ball, look no further than Shaheen Shah Afridi, who took 3 for 31 against India, including the wickets of opening pair KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma inside the powerplay and Virat Kohli later in the innings.
For New Zealand, Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips, both of whom are in line for T20 World Cup debuts, are the players to watch. Conway has lit up international cricket since his T20I debut last November and has 3,555 runs, an average of 44.43 and a strike rate of 128.85 in 106 career appearances in the format. Phillips, meanwhile, shone during the T20 Blast with 500 runs at a strike rate of 163.39 in 12 innings. The wicketkeeper-batter is in something of a rut at present, passing 20 on just two occasions in his past 10 innings, but has a lot of potential.
Pakistan are unlikely to make any changes to the side which defeated India on Sunday.
For New Zealand, however, there are concerns surrounding the fitness of Kane Williamson. The Black Caps skipper didn't bat during his side's warm-up match against England and is managing an ongoing elbow injury.
The following umpires and match referees have been named by the ICC to officiate in the T20 World Cup 2021:
Referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Javagal Srinath
Umpires: Chris Brown, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Rod Tucker, Joel Wilson, Paul Wilson
The following officials have been allocated to this fixture:
On-field umpires: Gough, Kettleborough
TV umpire: P Wilson
Fourth umpire: Dharmasena
Referee: Madugalle
Full T20 World Cup officials appointments: Click here
A warm evening is forecast in Sharjah, with temperatures hovering around 30 degrees Celsius.
Follow the Met Office forecast here.
Yes, though Covid protocols including the wearing of face masks will be in place.
Click here to visit the ICC's ticketing site.
If Rizwan and Azam are on song with the bat, it will be hard to shift Pakistan. Pakistan win.
T20 WORLD CUP TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Talk Talk 404, BT TV 423, Virgin 504) will broadcast the series in the United Kingdom, with the content available online via its streaming platform Sky Go.
BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra will have live ball-by-ball radio commentary of all tournament matches, accessible through the BBC Sport website, BBC Sounds or DAB radio.
The Star Sports network is showing the tournament in India. Matches can be streamed via Disney+ Hotstar
Other broadcasters by territory:
Australia - Fox Sports, Channel 9, Kayo Sports
New Zealand – Sky Sport New Zealand
Pakistan - PTV Sports, Ten Sports
Bangladesh - Ghazi Tv (GTV)
Sri Lanka – SLRC (Channel Eye)
South Africa – SuperSport
Caribbean – ESPN
Middle East and North Africa – eLife TV, StarzPlay, Switch TV
USA – ESPN+
Singapore - Star Cricket, Star Hub and Singtel
Malaysia - Fox International Channels
Hong Kong - Star Cricket
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne (injury cover)
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, Tim Seifert, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shaoib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf
T20 World Cup Hub: News, features, stats, live scores
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