Pakistan vs New Zealand T20 Cricket World Cup Predictions - Phillips to tear Pakistan’s spinners apart

Simon Lewis

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Last updated: 8 minutes ago

Simon Lewis 8 minutes ago

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Glenn Phillips has scored 40, 42 & 76* runs in his last four innings.
Sahibzada Farhan hit four sixes in his 58-ball 100* against Namibia.
Can New Zealand make it five wins in six against Pakistan by winning the first match in the Super 8s?

Glenn Phillips hits out against Canada (Getty Images).

Pakistan vs New Zealand Predictions

Pakistan and New Zealand are two powerful sides with bat and ball. They both finished second in their groups after picking up three wins in four. Pakistan’s bowling attack is more deadly, while the New Zealand attack’s strong point is their discipline. They both have world-class batters, but New Zealand bat deeper with a lot more power hitters, so I’m backing them for the win.

Pakistan vs New Zealand Predictions
Head-to-Head
Pakistan Form
New Zealand Form
Pakistan vs New Zealand Team News & Squads

New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips hit six sixes in his 36-ball 76* against Canada.
New Zealand’s Tim Seifert has scored 66, 65 & 89* in his last 5 innings.
Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan has scored 47, 73 & 100* in his last 4 innings.
Pakistan’s Shadab Khan has scored 46, 30 & 36* in his last 5 innings and taken 2/26 and 3/19 in his last three matches.

Head-to-Head

New Zealand have won four and lost one of their last five T20Is against Pakistan. The Kiwis have won the last two of those matches on the bounce.

Pakistan Form

Pakistan bounced back from their 61-run defeat against India by beating Namibia in their final group match to secure their place in the Super 8s.

Pakistan racked up 199/3 off their 20 overs against a beleaguered Namibia attack. Sahibzada Farhan hit 15 boundaries in notching up a 58-ball, undefeated 100 as he batted through the innings.

Skipper Salman Agha (38 off 23) hit two sixes in adding 67 for the second wicket with Farhan, while Shadab Khan smashed three sixes in a 22-ball 36* to add an unbroken 81 for the fourth wicket with Farhan.

Shadab knocked over three of Namibia’s top seven batters to pick up figures of 3/19 (econ 4.75). Usman Tariq (4/16, econ 4.57) wrapped up the middle-order and tail as Namibia crumbled to 97 all out off 17.3 overs. Tariq has taken 2/20, 2/16, 3/27 and 1/24 in his previous four matches.

New Zealand Form

New Zealand finished second in Group D after picking up their third win in four matches when they beat Canada by eight wickets.

On a good batting strip Canada batted well to post 173/4 off their 20 overs. Four New Zealanders each picked up one wicket, with Matt Henry (1/28, econ 7.00) and Jacob Duffy (1/25, econ 6.25) the most economical of their bowlers.

New Zealand’s dynamic opening duo failed with the bat, but Rachin Ravindra (59* off 39) and Glenn Phillips (76* off 36) smashed nine sixes in a 146-run stand for the third wicket. The pair took New Zealand to an eight-wicket win off just 15.1 overs.

Pakistan vs New Zealand Team News & Squads

Speaking during the post-match interviews after his side had secured their Super 8 spot by beating Namibia, Pakistan skipper Shadab Khan said his side believed they could win the World Cup.

“We didn’t take the Namibia game lightly after so much talk about one match against India. We are on the right track to achieve the goal of winning the World Cup, and we are following a process,” said Khan.

“There are eight good teams, so it will be a tough stage, and all matches will be high-pressure games,” added the Pakistan star.

New Zealand captain Daryl Mitchell paid tribute to his side during the post-match interviews after they bounced back from their defeat to South Africa by beating Canada in their last group match.

"We back everyone in the side. We have the 'bash brothers' up top. We bat really deep, and everyone can get the job done on the day. We are really excited to get to Colombo and prepare for the Super Eights now," said Mitchell.

Pakistan (possible XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (w), Khawaja Nafay, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq.

New Zealand (possible XI): Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (w), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.