Pakistan line up another T20I series sweep

Overview
Pakistan v New Zealand
3rd T20I
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Sunfay, 4 November, 08:00pm local time, 04:00pm GMT

New Zealand – despite coming off a seven-month gap – tried their best to prevent Pakistan's Twenty20 International juggernaut from rolling on, but couldn't prevent them from bagging their 11th successive T20I series victory.

Pakistan won the first game by two runs and then won the second of three matches with just two balls to spare, thus securing the series with one game still to be played.

New Zealand will feel that they at least deserve the consolation victory come the third game at Dubai on Sunday, 4 November. For that, though, they will have to continue doing what they have in the first two games, but eliminate the small but costly errors.

In the second game, the unnecessary run out of Ross Taylor hampered the momentum in New Zealand's innings, and the catch dropped by Colin de Grandhomme off Asif Ali in the 11th over allowed Pakistan to regain the advantage in the chase. Those are the mistakes that New Zealand will do well to steer clear of.

As for Pakistan, they will be in seventh heaven after bagging another series victory, but will remain motivated by the prospect of yet another clean sweep, having condemned Australia to three losses in a row recently.

They will be pleased that various players have come to the party in the many games, and there hasn't been any signs of reliance on any one department.

The middle-order might not have got much of a chance during the Australia series, but the likes of Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed have done reasonably well against New Zealand whenever the opportunity has arisen.

In the bowling department, the spinners and pacers have complemented each other wonderfully. In the two matches so far, the spinners have created pressure while the quicks have struck the blows, Hasan Ali taking three in the first game, and Shaheen Shah Afridi doing the same in the next.

New Zealand must look to be more disciplined in the third game. The bowlers have done pretty well, but need to be a little tighter, especially in the Powerplay overs, while the batsmen need to convert their starts.

Key players

Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan): The 18-year-old, who made himself known to the world through strong performances at the ICC U-19 World Cup earlier this year, has already begun showing signs of being a world-class bowler in the big league too. In the second game, he landed his yorkers with great precision in the final few overs to severely dent New Zealand from having a flourishing finish. He also picked up three wickets to keep them in check. If those yorkers are anything to go by, New Zealand will need to be extra careful when dealing with him.

Colin Munro (New Zealand): Having already raked up big scores in the first two games – 58 and 44 – the opener will be keen to finish the series on a high. His brisk scoring rate allows New Zealand to take full use of the scoring opportunities in the Powerplay. Add to that, his medium-pace bowling works as a good change-up tactic, particularly in these conditions.

Conditions

There shouldn't be any surprises in terms of the weather or the pitch – it is likely to remain typically warm and dry, while the Dubai pitch should remain on the slower side.

Squads

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (c, wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Asif Ali, Hassan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Babar Azam, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Waqas Maqsood, Usman Khan Shinwari, Hussain Talat, Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Glenn Phillips (wk), Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor