Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first against New Zealand in their first encounter of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026’s Super Eight phase at R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo on Saturday.
The match between Pakistan and New Zealand is facing a delay due to persistent rain at the venue.
The pitch and ground were covered, with the umpires monitoring the situation after the toss had been made on time.
Light drizzle turned heavy, and overs began to be lost after more than an hour and 10 minutes’ delay.
According to the schedule, if the match is not commenced by 7:40pm Pakistan Standard Time, the process of reducing overs would begin.
The official cut-off time had been set at 9:46pm PST. In order for a five-over-a-side contest to be possible, play had to start no later than 9:46pm.
Pakistan, New Zealand, England and co-hosts Sri Lanka are in Group 2 of the Super Eights.
Title-holders India, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the West Indies are in Group 1.
The top two teams from each Group will qualify for the semi-finals.
Playing XI
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Mirza and Usman Tariq.
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), Jimmy Neesham, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi and Lockie Ferguson.
Head-to-head
Pakistan and New Zealand have come face-to-face 49 times in T20Is, with the Green Shirts dominating the head-to-head record with 24 victories, while New Zealand have 23.
In T20 World Cups, however, the two sides have clashed seven times, with Pakistan leading the head-to-head 5-2.
Their last meeting in the tournament came in the semi-final of the 2022 edition, which the Green Shirts won comfortably by seven wickets.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s last victory over Pakistan dates back to the 2016 edition, where they prevailed by 22 runs.
Matches: 49
Pakistan: 24
New Zealand: 23
No Result: 2
Form Guide
Pakistan and New Zealand enter the fixture with similar momentum in their favour as they both finished second in their respective groups, winning three of their four matches.
Pakistan: W, L, W, W, W (most recent first)
New Zealand: W, L, W, W, L
— With additional input from AFP
