Pakistan chose to bowl against New Zealand
Pakistan’s new T20I captain Shaheen Afridi chose to put New Zealand first in the first T20I at Eden Park on Friday.
New Zealand were dealt a late blow with the absence of Mitchell Santner, who was ruled out of the series opener after testing positive for Covid. NZC announced that Santner had isolated himself in his hotel room and would travel alone to Hamilton, where the second T20I will be played. It means New Zealand have a slightly longer tail, with Adam Milne batting at 7 and Ben Sears coming into the side.
Meanwhile, Pakistan have dismantled the opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, with Babar reduced to three. They have made two debuts, with leg-spinner Usama Mir and fast bowler Abbas Afridi. Azam Khan has returned to the team as the designated wicketkeeper after previously appearing in a T20I in March last year, while Fakhar Zaman drops to four.
New Zealand: 1 Finn Allen, 2 Devon Conway (week), 3 Kane Williamson (captain), 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Mark Chapman, 7 Adam Milne, 8 Matthew Henry, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Ben Sears