Following a five-game T20 International series, Pakistan and New Zealand renew rivalries over the longer white ball format in five One Day Internationals.
The series gets underway on Thursday, April 27 with two games in Rawalpindi before the series moves to Karachi for the final three contests.
The teams played each other in a three-game ODI series in Pakistan in January with New Zealand winning 2-1 in matches played at the National Stadium in Karachi. Prior to that defeat, Pakistan had won eight consecutive ODIs against the Netherlands, West Indies and Australia earning themselves a fifth-place ranking in the world. In fact, Pakistan have won 19 of their last 27 matches in the format going back to end of the 2019 World Cup.
New Zealand, who are ranked #2 in the world in the 50-over game, have had more opportunities in the format as of late having played series against Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka so far in 2023 – winning four and losing four across the three series. They have won 20 of their last 31 ODIs dating back to March 2021.
New Zealand have a number of players missing from the series including Devon Conway – who notched a century and a 50 in the three-game series in January – Kane Williamson who suffered a knee injury in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and bowlers Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner all absent from the squad.
Unlike their opposition, Pakistan do not have any players competing in the IPL and thus have a full squad to choose from. Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Shan Masood are included in the provisional 16-man squad.
Speaking of Azam (11/5, PAK Top Batter) specifically, he is the #1 batter in ODI cricket at the moment and it is easy to see why. The Pakistani star has four centuries and seven 50s in his last 13 innings at an average of 82.1. He has also scored 125 and 77* in his last two innings in Rawalpindi.
Not far behind is Imam-ul-Haq (10/3) who currently ranks #3 in the world standings. However, his form is patchy with four consecutive failures – including two against New Zealand. Prior to that dip in form, he recorded seven successive scores of 50, with two of those centuries. In three matches in Rawalpindi Imam-ul-Haq has scores of 4, 49 and 58.
Another batter in the world's top ten is Fakhar Zarman (3/1). He has two centuries and a 50 in his last six appearances but scored just two runs in his only appearance in Rawalpindi against Zimbabwe in 2020.
New Zealand, meanwhile, lack the firepower in the batting order with captain Tom Latham (4/1 NZ Top Batter) the highest- ranked batter in the game at #32 in the world. Again, he lacks form with five single figure scores in his last eight innings. His last century came in November last year against India in Auckland.
Henry Nicholls (6/1) is the next best at #71 – he has one score of 50 in nine ODIs. The likes of Chad Bowes (5/1), Tom Blundell (9/2), Daryl Mitchell (4/1) and Jimmy Neesham (12/1) are other options to punt for in the markets.
Ish Sodhi (11/4, NZ Top Bowler), ranked #82, is the best option in the New Zealand bowling attack according to the world rankings alongside the inexperienced Blair Tickner (15/4) and very capable Adam Milne (3/1).
Pakistan have a number of solid options in the bowling ranks with Shaheen Afridi (13/5, PAK Top Bowler) rated in the top ten in the world. The paceman has nine wickets in his last four ODIs and took his only five-for in the format in Rawalpindi against Zimbabwe in 2020.
Mohammad Nawaz (10/3) is another option in the Top Bowler market. He has taken nine wickets in his past five games - and 20 in his last 10.
