Pakistan bowl remains unchanged; Santner returns for New Zealand

Toss Pakistan decided to play New Zealand on the field.

Pakistan chose to chase once more in an attempt to win in Hamilton and even the three-match T20I series against New Zealand.

The lone alteration for New Zealand was the return of Mitchell Santner, who had been ruled out of the opening Twenty20 International due to Covid. He took the place of fast bowler Matt Henry, who in his three overs in Auckland went wicketless for 29 runs.

Pakistan, on the other hand, chose to field an unchanged team, meaning that Saim Ayub—who impressed with a cameo of 27 off 8 in the first match of the series before being run out—will continue to open alongside Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam at number one.

Seddon Park’s pitch is anticipated to be faster and tougher than Auckland, where the ground crew claim it’s one of the roughest pitches they’ve ever set up, giving the bowlers more bounce.

After failing to reach their target of 227 in the opening Twenty20 International, Pakistan will be hoping to win and even the series.

Finlay Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (capt), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, and Ben Sears are the players from New Zealand.

Pakistan: Azam Khan (wk), Aamir Jamal, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi (capt), Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf, Muhammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed