When I look into the playing XI of Pakistan, they have
1. Hafeez (the in-form batsman, who is more of a useful allrounder), Ahmed Sheshad, Umar Akmal, Safraz, Afridi, Anwar Ali and Sohail.
2. Good bowling unit in the name of Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir and Wahab Riaz backed up by the ever reliable Afridi and Hafeez with some orthodox left arm bowuling in Raza Hasan..
3. Good wicket keeper batsmen in Sarfraz who is slowly but surely making himself available on all 3 formats.
and more importantly,
4. An aggressive leader in Afridi.
Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz are coming back into the team after spate of injuries and this is the right platform for them to excel. To me, the pick will be Sohail, who is looking for a World Cup contention.
On the other hand, New Zealand, starts off with a negative note - their aggressive captain in McCullum, Boult and Southee are missing this T20 and ODI series. This team will be lead by Willaimson.
Though the team boasts of a good batting line-up in Corey Anderon, Guptill, Ross Taylor and Neesham, their bowling unit does not look that great atleast on paper.
It is this bowling unit of New Zealand that will come as a cropper against Pakistan.
My Playing XI:
New Zealand: Guptill, Williamson (c), Taylor, Brownlie, Anderson, Neesham, Ronchi, Vettori, Kyle Mills, Nathan McCullum and Mitchell McClenaghan
Pakistan: Hafeez, Ahmed Sheshad, Anwar Ali, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz, Afridi, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir and Raza Hasan
So, Afridi, Go for the kill!!
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