Now this is a battle of the elites. There will be very little room for error as the Super 8 leg begins with Pakistan taking on a very competitive New Zealand team at the Premadasa in Colombo. Both teams know that failure in this game will make their path forward very difficult.According to the weather forecast, although the match in Colombo has not been affected yet, there is light rain around.
While Pakistan have been here since the start of the season, playing on slower spin-friendly pitches, this will be the first time they have played in such conditions for the Black Caps.Firstly, in this close battle, given the depth of spin attack Pakistan possess, they are slightly ahead.Mystery spinner Usman Tariq He has performed so well so far that no team has been able to challenge him.For New Zealand, the onus of dealing with this threat will fall on middle-order batsmen Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell.Chapman revealed that they are considering the Tariq factor.“Tariq’s movement is very unique, the way he stops at the crease is very unique, so that’s something to consider. But there are a lot of very good spinners in the Pakistan team. They each pose a threat in their own right,” Chapman said.But the southpaw also cited a familiar factor New Zealand has with Pakistan.The two teams have met regularly in T20Is – the last series was hosted by New Zealand in 2024-25, which they won 4-1.“Pakistan is one of the teams we have played against the most frequently over the last few years. So we have a good idea of what they are going to bring to the table,” Chapman said.Pakistan performed well in their last match against Namibia in the SSC and they are unlikely to make major changes to their squad.Paisman Shaheen Shah Afridi and leggie Abrar Ahmed were out of form and were ruled out of the match against Namibia.To play any of them, Pakistan would have to give up batsmen, which they are likely to be unwilling to do.The spin duties will be shared between Tariq, Syam Ayub, Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan, while left-hander Salman Mirza is likely to be the lone pacer.For New Zealand, it’s very simple.They hope to return captain Mitchell Santner, who missed the last game against Canada due to illness.His bowling style is perfect for Sri Lankan conditions and he should be a handful for Pakistan batsmen.“Santner looks lively and he’s excited to be back,” Chapman said, adding that pacer Locke Ferguson, who returned home after the birth of his first child, will return later before the game.“Rocky may land tonight. So we’ll see how he takes off from the plane,” Chapman said.
