On Sunday evening, Pakistan began their campaign in the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE with a spectacular ten-wicket victory over arch-rivals India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (October 24). While the Babar Azam-led Men in Green were clinical in all departments to end Virat Kohli and Co.’s 12-match unbeaten streak against their neighbours in World Cup history, the entire nation of Pakistan will now rally behind their team when they face New Zealand in match 19 of the T20 WC 2021.
Pakistan and New Zealand would have met for the sixth match in T20Is in over a month, but they will meet for the first time in 308 days in the shortest format. The reason for this is well known to the entire world, as the Black Caps pulled out of their tour of Pakistan in mid-September, just minutes before the tour’s opening match, causing huge financial losses to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and humiliating the Asian giants in world cricket, who are still fighting hard to regain full hosting rights in international cricket.
Match prediction for Pakistan vs New Zealand T20 WC: The two games at Sharjah, involving Sri Lanka-Bangladesh and Afghanistan-Scotland, showed batsmen will have a bigger role to play. Both teams might be tempted to bat second. It will be interesting to see if dew plays a role and makes its presence felt in the encounter. A high-scoring encounter is expected, in the range of 170-180, with Men in Green to make it two wins in a row.
