New Zealand pile up 330 after opting to bat first in tri-series opener against Pakistan

Lahore (Web Desk/ AFP): The Kiwis on Saturday piled up 330 runs against Pakistan after New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and opted to bat first in the opening game of the tri-nation series in Lahore.

The match is taking place at the revamped Gaddafi Stadium, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last night in a dazzling ceremony with music performances.

Experienced New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson was ruled out of the match with a hamstring injury.

In the first match of the tri-series, New Zealand won the toss and decided to bat against the host Pakistan.

In the match being played at the Gaddafi Stadium, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and decided to bat first.

Mitchell Santner said that the wicket looked favorable for batting, so he decided to bat first. Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan said that if they had won the toss and batted first.

New Zealand were in trouble initially when they lost two wickets for 39, with Shaheen Afridi getting opener Will Young out for four in the first over.

Batters Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell then got together and put up a 95-run partnership to steady the New Zealand innings.

South Africa is the third team in the event, seen as a warm-up for the eight-nation Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates from February 19.

Each team plays two matches before the top two compete in the final in Karachi on February 14.

While Pakistan have recently struggled at the T20 International and Test fronts, they have been a force to reckon with in the One-day International format — in which the tri-nation series and the Champions Trophy are to be played — winning three series on a trot towards the end of last year.

Pakistan’s squad for the tri-nation series and the following eight-team extravaganza, however, has raised questions, with the selections of all-rounders Faheem Ashraf and Khushdil Shah.

So much so that there have been speculations that Pakistan will make changes in the Champion Trophy squad by the Feb 12 deadline, the day they take on South Africa in their tri-nation series.

Mohammad Rizwan clarified during a press conference yesterday: “The squad that has been announced is in front of everyone, and there’s no such thing that we will make changes to it.”

“We have a match tomorrow, and we have three to four days, but it’s not necessary that we are unhappy with our team or that we need to think about changes.”

Teams

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Tayyab Tahir, Salman Agha, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (captain), Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Matt Henry, Ben Sears, Will O’Rourke

Umpires: Faisal Afridi (PAK) and Michael Gough (ENG)

TV Umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG)

Match referee: David Boon (AUS)