New Zealand vs. Pakistan 1st ODI: Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

With the 2015 World Cup just days away, host nation New Zealand and Pakistan will be hoping to fine-tune their games in this two-game ODI series.

And with the latter suffering back-to-back embarrassing defeats against a New Zealand Board President's XI, these innocuous-looking warm-up games have taken on a greater importance.

Let's take a look at how the two teams are shaping up and which way the opening clash at Wellington could go.

Venue: Wellington, New Zealand

Date: Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015

Start time: 2 p.m. local time, 1 a.m. GMT

Weather: The toss-winning skipper may want to factor in the weather forecast with showers looking likely over the latter part of the game, according to the bbc.co.uk/weather.

Live stream/TV Info: Sky Sports 2 (UK), Fox Sports (Australia), Sky Sports (New Zealand).

Preview

The two defeats to the NZ Board President's XI will have dented Pakistan's confidence, especially given the ease with which the opposition chased down two significant totals.

Francois Nel/Getty Images

Admittedly, with Junaid Khan out with injury and Saeed Ajmal still missing due to the ongoing remedial work on his suspect bowling action, Pakistan are missing some of their biggest guns. 

But even with a slightly experimental bowling attack, they would still have expected to put away a selection of up-and-coming Kiwis with ease.

On a more positive note, from a batting perspective, they didn't play too poorly in those two losses, scoring 313 in the first game and 267 in the second.

Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq looks to be in good touch, having scored 255 runs in his last four innings, while Umar Akmal's back-to-back half-centuries were full of swash-buckling shots.

However, the Pakistanis will need both units firing on all-cylinders if they are going to make waves at the World Cup, starting in Wellington on Saturday.

Conversely, New Zealand have no such worries and are certainly "match fit," having recently played and won a seven-game tussle against Sri Lanka by a 4-2 score line.

Mitchell McClenaghan and Corey Anderson took 19 wickets between them in that series and look set to provide excellent back-up to the experienced Tim Southee and Trent Boult in the World Cup.

While Brendon McCullum continues to lead a big-hitting batting line-up from the front, as evidenced by his 117 off just 99 balls at Hamilton.

In fact, throw in the in-form Luke Ronchi, the evergreen Daniel Vettori and exciting youngsters like Corey Anderson and Kane Williamson and the World Cup co-hosts look like an excellent outside bet to do well at the big one.

One thing is for sure, these two teams should know each other fairly well. Since November 9, they've played each other 10 times across three formats. 

Of those clashes, New Zealand have held the upper hand, winning five times, including the last two ODIs they contested.

ODI Form Lines (most recent first)

New Zealand: LWWWNL

Pakistan: LLWLWL

Squads

New Zealand (from): Brendon McCullum (capt.), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Luke Ronchi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, Kane Williamson

Pakistan (from): Misbah-ul-Haq (capt.), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Haris Sohail, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Umar Akmal, Bilawal Bhatti, Sohail Khan, Ehsan Adil, Sohaib Maqsood, Yasir Shah

Players to Watch

New Zealand

It's got to be Luke Ronchi, right? The 33-year-old, who has endured a strange career that has seen him represent both Australia and New Zealand at international level, blasted a stunning 170 off just 99 balls at Dunedin against Sri Lanka. The wicketkeeper's ability to provide late-order lusty blows could play a huge factor in the World Cup.

Pakistan

Misbah-ul-Haq may be due to retire from ODI cricket after the World Cup, but the 40-year-old remains a calming presence in Pakistan's middle order. Capable of turning over the strike or accelerating if necessary, he is in excellent form and has returned four centuries and just one single-figure score in his last 13 innings across all-formats.

Prediction

Although Pakistan will surely produce an improved performance from their last two games, New Zealand look like a slick, well-oiled ODI side, playing with confidence and get the nod here.