New Zealand host Pakistan in the opening game of the Super Eights of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. With three wins to their name, the Black Caps have established their authority, but they are yet to find form. For the same reason, New Zealand have made three changes to the playing XI. Captain Mitchell Santner himself returned to the playing XI and so did Ish Sodhi and Lockie Ferguson.
On the other hand, Pakistan have made one change to the playing XI. Fakhar Zaman finally returned but not for Babar Azam, who is yet to find his form in the tournament. Fakhar replaced Khawaja Nafay and could be key for Pakistan in the tournament as they too havenโt quite found their mojo.
In the meantime, Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bat first. Salman Agha wants to back their winning mantra, despite rain being around the corner. Notably, soon after the toss took place, the rain was back and the pitch was once again covered, which indicates that there could be a delay in the start.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson
Pakistan (Playing XI): Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq
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