PAK vs NZ prediction: Match win and toss – 2nd ODI

 

Match prediction: Pakistan to win
Toss prediction: Pakistan to win the toss and field first

Just as we saw in the T20I series, Pakistan got off to a winning start in the ODIs when they beat New Zealand by five wickets on Thursday – their 500th ODI win. Now we move onto the second ODI and in this Pakistan vs New Zealand prediction piece we will rate the chances of New Zealand levelling the series at 1-1. Neither team put in a faultless display on Thursday and we are expecting both sides to go up a level in terms of performance in this PAK vs NZ game.

  • Saturday, April 29th, 15:30 PST
  • Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

Pakistan vs New Zealand match preview

Pakistan

Fakhar Zaman was the standout performer with the bat for Pakistan in the opening ODI and he also took the Player of the Match Award after hitting his ninth century in the format. There were also contributions from the usual suspects – Imam-ul-Haq (60), Babar Azam (49) and Mohammad Rizwan (42*) – and all will be full of confidence ahead of this game. The pace attack of Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf all took two wickets on Thursday and we expect all three to be selected once more in Saturday's game.

Probable IX: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah

New Zealand

With New Zealand falling to their third defeat on the tour, you might expect the team to be despondent ahead of this game but we anticipate they will turn up full of confidence in this game. Daryl Mitchell hit 113 on Thursday with opener Will Young also contributing a very important 86. They were probably one other significant contribution away from winning the opening ODI and, as we always say, you can never write off the Black Caps, irrespective of the format or the series scoreline.

Probable IX: Chad Bowes, Will Young, Tom Latham (c) (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Jimmy Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Adam Milne, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Ben Lister

Pitch and expected weather conditions

As expected it was not a difficult batting wicket here on Thursday although it will probably be a fraction slower for this contest. Pace bowlers with good variations will have joy once more.

It will get progressively more humid as the game develops but the level will not rise above 55% by the end of the match. We expect a warm afternoon and evening with the temperature peaking at 32 degrees.

Pakistan vs New Zealand prediction

Match prediction: Pakistan to win 

Pakistan showed that they can not only master the conditions in Rawalpindi but also pace their chase and it is very hard to look beyond another home win in Saturday's ODI. New Zealand will not be a push over but we think the additional batting experience for Pakistan will be crucial. Overall, our PAK vs NZ prediction for the second ODI is another home win.

Toss prediction: Pakistan to win the toss and field first. 

With humidity levels set to rise in the second innings of the game, we can expect dew to settle and a moist ball is never any fun to bowl with. As a result, it would be a big surprise if either skipper decided to bat first in this ODI.

Man of the match prediction: Babar Azam

Any Pakistan vs New Zealand prediction over recent years involves the great Babar Azam and Pakistan's skipper became the fastest Asian batter to 12,000 international runs in Thursday's match. It was a huge surprise to see him not convert his 49 into a half-century or even a ton and we expect him to deliver in this game. He took 46 balls for his 49 in the first ODI and his strike-rates are starting to increase across all formats. Our PAK vs NZ prediction is for Babar Azam to take the Player of the Match Award.

Betting odds

The odds for the two teams are exactly the same as they were for the opening ODI with Pakistan the clear favourites to go 2-0 up in the series. You can back the hosts at 1.36 to double their lead, or alternatively, you can back the underdogs, New Zealand at 3.25 to level the scores at 1-1.

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