Pakistan’s cricket team is preparing for a crucial match

Muhammad Rizwan, Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman, said that every match is new and important, and the team’s focus is on winning the series. He added that the team is planning to score a total of 350 runs in mind, and they will play according to the requirements of ODI cricket.

Pakistan’s record in ODI cricket at the National Stadium Karachi is fifty-fifty, with the Green Shirts having 23 victories in 44 matches so far, including 2 out of 5 against New Zealand. Pakistan won both the one-day matches played in Rawalpindi during the home series against New Zealand. Both teams have now camped in Karachi where the National Stadium will host the next three matches.

During the training sessions, Fakhar Zaman looked in full form and continued to play good strokes, Imamul Haq had a separate session with other batsmen practicing in the nets, and Babar Azam also looked confident batting. The coaching staff focused on Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Abdullah Shafiq, Imad Wasim also had a long session, and tail-enders were also given ample opportunity to bat. Shaheen Shah Afridi with a small run-up was bowling, while his fitness was in doubt, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, and Ehsanullah struggled to adjust to the new conditions, and bowling coach Umar Gul stopped the flow of runs to Pacers. The Pacers experimented with variations, yorkers, and bouncers to remove the flaws seen in the previous match. Spinners Imad Wasim, Osama Mir, and Shadab Khan were also active to improve their line and length.

Captain Babar Azam headed along with coach Grant Bradburn to review the beach. On the other hand, the Kiwis also showed power heating while batting, while the spinners continued to prepare for better bowling in favorable conditions. The guest-pace battery also struggled to charge.

The players are aware that the beach in Karachi is different from Pindi, and their efforts will be to form a batting plan keeping in mind the total of 350 runs. Pakistan’s record in ODI cricket at the National Stadium Karachi is not very good, here the Green Shirts have so far won 23 matches, lost 19, and lost 2 in 44 matches. The match was inconclusive. Pakistan’s highest total here was 353 for 6 against England in the Summer of 2005 and won by 165 runs, the lowest total was 146 against West Indies in November 1991. In this match, the host team was defeated by 24 runs.

Pakistan and New Zealand have played 5 matches in Karachi so far, 2 of them were won by the Green Shirts, 3 were lost, and 3 of them were played during the previous visit of the Kiwis in January this year, resulting in 2-1 win in favor of the visiting team. Pakistan also set their biggest total against New Zealand this year and scored 280 runs for 9 wickets thanks to Fakhar Zaman’s century.