New Zealand vs. Pakistan, World T20: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview
After their dispiriting performance against India, Pakistan face a crucial clash with the in-form New Zealand knowing defeat would leave their hopes of progressing hanging from a thread.
Consequently, if the Black Caps can make it three from three, Kane Williamson's men will have all but booked their spot in the semi-finals with a game to spare.
Let's take a look at how the two teams are shaping up ahead of this intriguing contest.
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Date: Tuesday, 22 March
Time: 7:30 p.m. local (2:00 p.m. GMT)
Venue: PCA Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh, India
Live Stream and TV Info: Fox Sports (Australia), DD National/Star Sports (India), GEO Super/PTV Sports (Pakistan), TNL TV (Sri Lanka), Star/Channel 9 (Bangladesh), Life OK (UK), Sky Sport (New Zealand), Yupptv.com (Live streaming service available in Europe).
Weather: According to Accuweather.com, a blazing day of hot sunshine will give way to a warm, pleasant evening in Chandigarh.
Overview
New Zealand have made a flying start to the tournament, seeing off heavyweight duo India and Australia, and yet the highest individual score from one of their batsmen is Martin Guptill's 39 against the Baggy Greens.
What's more surprising is that, arguably, their two best seamers, Tim Southee and Trent Boult, weren't even in the team.
However, in their place, a mixed-bag of bowlers have proved a nightmare to get away on some difficult batting surfaces, enabling Kane Williamson's men to defend totals of 126 and 142.
Spinners' Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Nathan McCullum and Williamson have delivered 20 overs for just 91 runs while picking up 12 wickets so far.
And the medium-pace duo of Corey Anderson and Grant Elliot have also been economic, with the former even stepping up to open the bowling.
Of course, if the surface at Mohali proves to be less attritional, then the likes of Guptill, Colin Munro and Ross Taylor will be eager to flex their muscles.
All in all, New Zealand have most bases covered and, under the impressive captaincy of Williamson, clearly mean business in this competition. Brendan who?
Pakistan, on the other hand, are still reeling from a couple of recent, humiliating T20 defeats to their bitter rivals India.
The first of which came at the Asia Cup, where they were skittled for just 83.
And then on Saturday, Shahid Afridi's men could only muster 118 to lose by six wickets and throw a spanner into their qualification chances.
More positive was a thundering win over Bangladesh in the first match of their World Cup campaign that was built around a huge first-innings score of 201.
If they can repeat these sort of totals more often, then their potent seam attack of Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz will have more chance to attack with the ball.
The negative media surrounding Shahid Afridi's captaincy and place in the side continues apace, and the bombastic all-rounder could do with a huge performance here.
T20I head-to-head record and last meeting
The sides have contested 14 T20 Internationals so far, with Pakistan holding an 8-6 advantage. However, New Zealand have won the last two encounters, including a 95-run drubbing on home soil at Wellington in January.
Squads
Pakistan
Shahid Afridi (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Imad Wasim, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Amir, Mohammed Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Sami, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Shoaib Malik, Sharjeel Khan, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz.
New Zealand
Kane Williamson (capt), Martin Guptill, Trent Boult, Nathan McCullum, Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi (wk), Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, Grant Elliott, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee
Key Players
Pakistan
Amir has been in impressive form since his return from his spot-fixing ban, and he's quickly become Pakistan's leading bowler.
With an economy rate of 6.55 from 60 T20 appearances, the 23-year-old's searing pace and testing lines with the new ball will present a testing challenge for the Kiwis attack-minded batting lineup
New Zealand
Prior to the tournament, if you were looking for a weak spot in the New Zealand lineup, then their spin department would have been the obvious choice. However, that was before Santner arrived on the world stage.
The 24-year-old slow left-armer has flourished on India's spin-friendly decks claiming six wickets at 6.83 while posting an economy rate of just over five.
Prediction
While there are undoubtedly match-winners in the Pakistan team, their batting lineup remains inconsistent, especially if Hafeez fails. Conversely, New Zealand are a slick, battle-hardened and in-form side with plenty of momentum behind them. Thus, it is hard to back against them here.
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