KARACHI: Pakistan have a golden opportunity to end their otherwise disastrous tour of New Zealand on a bright note as a victory in the third and final Twenty20 International at Mount Maunganui on Sunday (today) will catapult them to the top of the world rankings in the shortest format of the game.
Thrashed 5-0 by the Black Caps in the One-day International series, Pakistan bounced back with a vengeance by winning the second T20 game in Auckland to level the three-match series 1-1.
If they capitalise on the momentum and beat New Zealand again in the series decider, Pakistan will overtake the home team to become number one in the world T20 rankings.
That’s a big incentive for the Pakistanis, who have been in dismal form on the tour of New Zealand.
The home team has outplayed Pakistan along the length and breadth of the country. They have batted, bowled and fielded better, with the results bearing that out. Six of the seven games played have seen New Zealand emerge comfortably on top.
Meanwhile, Ish Sodhi may be ranked the world’s best T20I bowler - although that didn’t help him on the opening day of the IPL auction - but it feels inevitable that Shadab Khan will be ranked there someday. He’s already mixing it with the best and holding his own, and the final T20I gives him an excellent platform to showcase that again. He has blown a little hot and cold on this tour, following up a superb performance with an indifferent one. Consistency is arguably a legspinner’s biggest challenge, but Shadab has the confidence and ability to rise to it. Pakistan will consider tomorrow’s decider a fantastic place to start building towards it.
Ross Taylor and Tom Blundell - who scored a hundred on Test debut against the West Indies - have been called up for the final game. Colin Munro misses out with a slight hamstring strain, while Glenn Phillips has been released back to his domestic side, Auckland, where Mike Hesson wanted the wicketkeeper to “evolve” his game. Tim Southee, who was rested for the second game, returns.
Pakistan are likely to go with the same eleven that produced their best performance of the tour at Eden Park. That may mean Sarfraz persists with batting at No. 4, given the success of the strategy in Auckland.
Rain is not expected to be a factor in Mount Maunganui, a surface which takes a bit more spin than the average New Zealand ground. That may prompt both sides to go with two spinners, though a batting friendly deck is expected.
from The News International - Sports http://ift.tt/2nfUax4
