NZ vs PAK Dream11 Team Prediction Tips for 2nd Test New Zealand vs Pakistan, 3-7 January

NZ vs PAK Dream11: For the last time in the tour, Pakistan is ready to face the hosts New Zealand here at Christchurch. So far, this has been a disappointing tour for the tourists with just one win. Hosts New Zealand has proved why they are so hard to beat at home. With some quality players like Tom Latham, skipper Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, NZ’s batting looks solid. The rise of Henry Nicholls in the middle order playing in hard conditions has been one of the brighter things for Kiwis. Wagner’s unavailability leaves a hole in the bowling lineup but NZ has enough talent in the ranks to trouble the opposition. With World Test Championship (WTC) points up for grabs, NZ will look to strengthen their status in the points table.
Pakistan meanwhile has some problems to address. They will feel confident the way they fought in the last game giving the hosts a real fight. Babar Azam’s absence for this game leaves a big hole in the batting order. So they will need runs from the top order which can set the platform for the middle order. Fawad Alam’s century in last test’s second innings was a big positive for them and along with in-form Rizwan, they will hope to build the momentum. Bowling has always been Pakistan’s strength and this time it is no different as Shaheen Afridi, Abbas, Naseem and Yasir pose a serious threat to a world class NZ batting order.

NZ vs PAK Dream11 match details
Fixture name: 2nd Test, New Zealand vs Pakistan
Series: Pakistan tour of New Zealand, 2020-21
Date: 3-7 January, 2021
Time: 3:30 AM IST
Ground: Hagley Oval, Christchurch
Brief score of the last result at the venue: New Zealand 235 and 132/3 beat India 242 and 124 by 7 wickets on Feb 29- Mar 2, 2020.
Team Form:
NZ (recent last) W W W W W
PAK (recent last) W L D D L
ICC Test Rankings: NZ 2, PAK 7
Pitch Report: The pitch will have a tinge of green and it will assist the seamers early on. From the third day, the pitch will be flat and batsmen can enjoy the even bounce on the wicket. Spinners do not have a great record on this ground, so majority of the work will be for the seamers. The weather will be partly sunny for the most of the duration of the match. It will remain fairly cloudy for the third day and rain is expected.

NZ vs PAK Playing 11
NZ Team News
Injury update, unavailability- Neil Wagner has been ruled out of this test and Matt Henry has replaced him in the squad. All other players are available.
Expected team changes- Henry is most likely to replace Wagner in the only change expected in the eleven.
Team Combination:
Latham and Blundell will be the openers with skipper Williamson slotted in at No.3.
Taylor, Nicholls and wicketkeeper Blundell will hold the middle order spots.
Boult and Southee will be the new ball bowlers with Henry and Jamieson to complement them. Santner will be the lone spinner.
NZ Playing 11 (probable)
T Latham
T Blundell
K Williamson (C)
R Taylor
H Nicholls
B Watling (wk)
M Santner
K Jamieson
T Southee
M Henry
T Boult

PAK Team News
Injury update, unavailability- Babar Azam remains unavailable as he is yet to fully recover from his injury. All other players are available.
Expected team changes- Pakistan is likely to field the same eleven from the 1st Test match.
Team Combination:
Masood and Abid Ali will open with Azhar Ali expected to come at No.3.
Haris Sohail, Fawad Alam and wicketkeeper Rizwan will be the middle order batsmen.
Shaheen Afridi, Abbas and Naseem Shah will be the quick bowlers with Yasir Shah holding the spin bowling duties.
PAK Playing 11 (probable)
S Masood
Abid Ali
Azhar Ali
H Sohail
F Alam
M Rizwan (C) (wk)
F Ashraf
Y Shah
S Afridi
M Abbas
N Shah

NZ vs PAK Today Match Prediction: Who will win NZ vs PAK Dream11 match today?
In their home conditions, NZ will start as the favorites again. They have the experienced batsmen who can play the seaming conditions better. The bowlers like Southee and Boult become increasingly threatening in these conditions. Santner’s performance in the last innings has given a new dimension to their bowling. Pakistan though, showed in the last game that they have the resilience and grit required to win in these conditions. They will expect some runs from the top order which the inexperienced middle order can capitalize. Expect the fast bowlers to dominate in the NZ vs PAK Today Match Prediction.

NZ vs PAK Dream11 Prediction, Captain & Differential Picks, Fantasy Cricket Tips
K Williamson- The newly crowned world No.1 Test batsman, Williamson has performed splendidly on tough wickets for some time now. He has the ability to play a big innings on any pitch and he is a good player of both pace and spin.
Test Career: Runs 6877, Avg. 53
Williamson vs PAK: Runs 1004, Avg. 50

T Latham- The opener plays out the tough conditions and that tells the kind of temperament he has. He is the vice-captain of the eleven and has been scoring runs consistently for years.
Test Career: Runs 3896, Avg. 42
Latham vs PAK: Runs 528, Avg. 31

T Southee- The legend of NZ’s fast bowling Southee is a real threat in these conditions. He bowls impeccable lines and lengths and can swing the ball both ways.
Test Career: Wkts 300, Bowl Avg. 28
Southee vs PAK: Wkts 35, Bowl Avg. 29

S Masood- The left handed opener’s form has dipped since that century in England. He surely has the temperament and technique to survive in these conditions. If he spends some time on the wicket, he has the ability to convert his scores into big ones.
Test Career: Runs 1378, Avg. 30
Masood vs PAK: Runs 79, Avg. 13

F Alam- Fawad will be high on confidence after the excellent century in the last game. He has been regarded as one of the best batsmen of Pakistan’s domestic circuit. He bats in the middle order and has scored plenty of runs in the domestic circuit.
Test Career: Runs 382, Avg. 38
Alam vs NZ: Runs 145, Avg. 36

S Afridi- The left-armer looked good in the last game and created plenty of chances. He has the ability to swing the new ball and bowls excellent Yorkers to pick up wickets. His ability to bowl wicket taking deliveries makes him a topmost pick in the NZ vs PAK Dream11 Prediction.
Test Career: Wkts 39, Bowl Avg. 32
Afridi vs NZ: Wkts 7, Bowl Avg. 41

Differential Picks
H Nicholls- Nicholls is an underrated batsman in this NZ lineup but a very effective batsman who scores runs in tough conditions. Expect him to get some runs at No.5.
Test Career: Runs 1995, Avg. 41
Nicholls vs PAK: Runs 423, Avg. 42

M Abbas- Abbas can play a big role in these conditions. The seaming conditions of NZ suit his style of bowling and he can be a real threat to NZ batting lineup if he bowls testing lines and lengths.
Test Career: Wkts 82, Bowl Avg. 22
Abbas vs NZ: Wkts 4, Bowl Avg. 43

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