New Zealand's another easy win against Pakistan in the second T20I of the five-match series on Tuesday, beating them by six wickets in a rain-shortened game. Pakistan scored 135/9 in 15 overs, but New Zealand chased it down without trouble. Just like in the first match, Pakistan's bowlers couldn’t handle the pressure, and even their top pacer, Shaheen Afridi, was conceded 26 runs in an over by New Zealand's batters.

Shaheen Afridi had tough times against New Zealand, giving away 31 runs in his three overs, with 26 coming in just one over. New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert went after him, smashing four sixes, with a 119-meter six hit at the University Oval in Dunedin.

TIM SEIFERT SMASHING 4 SIXES IN AN OVER AGAINST SHAHEEN AFRIDI. 🥶pic.twitter.com/Q4jcTTW9Ar

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 18, 2025

Pakistan gave a better fight in the second T20I compared to the first match. Captain Salman Agha admitted the improvement during the post-match presentation. With the series now at 0-2, Pakistan can’t afford another loss. The skipper has urged the top order to step up in the powerplay if they want to bounce back in the next match in the series.

Shaheen Afridi keeps improving his position inside Dinda Academy- pic.twitter.com/Y63EnBbemz

— Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) March 18, 2025

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“It was freezing out there. But this game was much better than the last one. We batted well, our fielding was great, and our bowling was decent in parts. We need to adjust to the bounce better. After the powerplay, we bowled well, and Haris was impressive. But we have to do better in the powerplay, both in batting and bowling,” he said.

Michael Bracewell will lead New Zealand in their five-match T20I series against Pakistan. He also captained the team during their tour of Pakistan last year, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Bracewell is stepping in as captain since Mitchell Santner, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Phillips, and Rachin Ravindra are all in India for the IPL.

Michael Bracewell will take over as captain for the Pakistan T20Is while Mitchell Santner is unavailable.

He played a big role in the Champions Trophy, where New Zealand finished as runners-up. In the final against India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, he scored a crucial half-century and took four wickets against Bangladesh. To manage the workload of fast bowlers, Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke will only play the first three matches. Matt Henry, who missed the final against India, will return for the last two games.  

“It’s a huge honor to captain my country. I really enjoyed leading the team in Pakistan last year, and it’s great to have many of the same players in this squad,” Bracewell said in a statement from New Zealand Cricket.  

New Zealand squad for Pakistan T20I series

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Ben Sears is back after recovering from a hamstring injury, while leg-spinner Ish Sodhi returns after missing the Sri Lanka series. Kane Williamson has decided to sit out and wasn’t considered for selection. Bevon Jacobs, who was in the squad for the recent T20I series against Sri Lanka, couldn’t play as he was busy with the IPL. The T20I series between Pakistan and New Zealand begins on Sunday, March 16, at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

New Zealand is working on a spin to beat India. They believe India might take advantage of their plan when they meet in the ICC Champions Trophy final in Dubai on Sunday. A net bowler has even shared some details about their plans. India started using four spinners from their third group-stage match, which was against New Zealand. In that game, New Zealand struggled against spin, scoring only 205 while chasing India’s 249, and eventually, they were short under pressure.

They are ready for the challenge, New Zealand's batters are putting in extra work to improve against spin, as net bowler Shashwat Tiwari told ANI. He shared that the New Zealand players are aware of how dangerous India’s spinners can be, especially since they played a big role in India's wins over New Zealand in the group stage and Australia in the semi-finals. Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was particularly impressive in both matches, taking seven wickets in those two games, including a five-wicket haul (5 for 42) against New Zealand in the Group-stage match.  

"They are practicing against left-arm spinners,", "I wouldn’t say they are struggling, but India has world-class spinners, and it won’t be easy for them to handle," Tiwari told ANI.

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India has a strong spin attack with experienced all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, along with Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav as their left-arm spinners. Varun Chakravarthy and Washington Sundar add more depth to the spin department.  

Net bowler Shashwat Tiwari said that, "I was lucky to get a chance to bowl in the nets today. At one point, one of their batters (name not mentioned) asked me to bowl from 18 yards instead of the usual 22 to prepare for Ravindra Jadeja’s pace. He expected the ball to come that fast. We bowled from that distance, and it went well. But when he found the ball was coming too quickly, he asked me to switch back to 22 yards."  

India won all Group A matches and they topped the table, winning all three matches, and then defeated Australia by four wickets in the semifinal. Meanwhile, New Zealand reached the final aftera win over South Africa.

India will play against New Zealand at the Dubai International Stadium, aiming to keep their good form and their winning streak alive after securing their place in the semifinals. With two wins from two matches in the Champions Trophy 2025. In their last game, Virat Kohli’s brilliant century makes India a comfortable win over Pakistan while chasing 242.

India vs New Zealand Predicted Playing XI, Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma misses out, India likely to change the team.

In CT 2025, India is in a good position, they have some injury concerns before the big match. Captain Rohit Sharma, who had some discomfort against Pakistan, is still uncertain. If he isn’t fully fit, India might rest him, with KL Rahul starting the innings and Rishabh Pant joining the playing XI against Newzland. Mohammed Shami is also a concern after looking uncomfortable in the last match against Pakistan. Since he has had injury issues before and Jasprit Bumrah is already missing, India might not want to take any chances before the Semifinals. Even if Shami is fit, Arshdeep Singh could get a chance as the team looks to manage player workloads before the knockout match.

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🚨 PLAYING XI UPDATE vs NZ 🚨
(Times Now Report)

- No Rohit Sharma and Shami. (If they not Fit)
- KL to open with Gill
- Arshdeep and Pant will be in the XI

📷 ICC via Getty Images pic.twitter.com/lo2QReyijx

— CricketGully (@thecricketgully) February 25, 2025

India’s Probable XI vs New Zealand:

Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana.

If Rohit Sharma doesn’t play, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are likely to open the innings. Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant will play in the middle order, while Hardik Pandya is a skillful all-rounder. The spin attack is expected to remain the same with Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana could handle the pace bowling.

Rachin Ravindra is playing in the Karachi training nets and if Rachin is available Tom Latham not played for New Zealand’s Champions Trophy opener against Pakistan. Wearing his helmet, Ravindra covered up the stitches from an odd injury ten days ago when he missed a ball from Khushdil Shah and got hit on the forehead. The management said that he would be fully fit before the Champions Trophy.

New Zealand Taking It Slow, but Rachin Ravindra Looks Ready

During the practice, Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell bowled some leg spin to improve Ravindra's batting and he can play his free-flowing shots. He stepped back, cleared his front leg, and then hit a beautiful cover drive. If delivery was overpitched, he smashed decisive strokes, clearing the actual boundary in a normal game-sliding without any problem. Nevertheless, he managed to go off the field after the treatment, thus the fans greeted him with applause. There was no concussion besides not losing consciousness and his eyes, nose, or teeth have no damage. Kane Williamson described him as a person who likes to joke, and shortly after that, he said that we would monitor him according to his fitness so he could play in the ICC Champions Trophy.

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Latham said. "He’s recovering well, but we need to be careful. Head injuries need proper checks before making a decision."

New Zealand completed the tri-series. When Ravindra was unfit to play, Devon Conway brilliantly scored 97 and 48 to help New Zealand beat out the tri-series. There were also injured locks, Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears, so the replacements of Nathan Smith and Jacob Duffy did a very good job in the tri-series. Ferguson's replacement, Kyle Jamieson, is entering the squad to keep the team on track, so there should be no problem with the provision of the substitute.

 Latham said. "The pitch we played on against Pakistan was different from the one used against South Africa. We’ll check today’s conditions, but we’re confident in our approach."

In New Zealand’s ODI campaign, Kiwi players are in good form. As for the game which the New Zealand team won, they started with bowling and South Africa Batted first and they scored 304 runs New Zealand successfully chased it with Williamson leading the charge. Their fast bowlers, controlled the game after that in the final Pakistan was inconsistent and they won the Tri-series final.

The Australian cricket team delivered a stellar performance, successfully chasing down the 216-run target set by New Zealand with six wickets in hand within 20 overs. This remarkable achievement marked their third-highest successful run chase in T20 cricket, underscoring their resilience in high-pressure situations.

Notably, Australia’s highest successful T20I run chase had also occurred against the Kiwis in Auckland back in 2018 when they achieved a stunning target of 244 runs with seven balls remaining. The second-best chase involved India whereby they hunted down 223 runs in Guwahati last year thereby showing their capacity of chasing big targets against top notch opponents.

Australia’s Dominance in T20I Run-Chases

In a nail-biting climax to the match, and needing 16 off the last over, Tim David played a brave innings striking veteran bowler Tim Southee for 12 from three balls which included an important six and boundary off last throw thus giving Australia an exciting victory.

Unbeaten on 72 runs off 44 balls, skipper Mitchell Marsh provided the much needed support to Tim David. The duo stepped in after wicketkeeper Josh Inglis was dismissed—forming a crucial partnership of 44 runs in just 19 deliveries and taking Australia towards an imposing target set by New Zealand.

Australia’s openers Travis Head and David Warner got the Australian chase off to a good start. Although they both fell within the first seven overs, their rapid scoring partnership put them in a strong position at 69-2.

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Mitchell Marsh and Tim David’s Heroic Partnership

In spite of losing important players, there were middle-order batsmen that contributed substantially to the pursuit. Glenn Maxwell injected some energy into the innings with his quick fire knock of 25 from just 11 balls before being cleaned up by Lockie Ferguson who took a well-directed yorker thus stood out as New Zealand’s most economical bowler.

The first innings began with Finn Allen and Devon Conway opening up with a quickfire partnership of 61 runs in merely 5.2 overs for the Black Caps Franchise. This was followed by Rachin Ravindra reaching his maiden T20I fifty from twenty nine deliveries while Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman also played valuable hands, leading to New Zealand amassing an imposing total of two hundred fifteen for three.

Australia’s strong batting, led by Mitchell Marsh and Tim David, eventually ensured a famous win in a high-scoring contest despite New Zealand’s daunting total, revealing their tough side and performance under pressure in T20 cricket.

New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham will miss the rest of SA20 2024 after sustaining an injury in the previous match against Sunrisers Eastern Cape. Neesham, who played a crucial role in the Pretoria Capitals, scoring 27 runs and being the team’s highest run-scorer, has been officially replaced by Jacques Snyman.

The franchise announced Neesham’s absence on their official ‘X’ handle and expressed their best wishes for his speedy recovery. Despite Neesham’s contributions, the Capitals emerged victorious in the match against Sunrisers Eastern Cape, winning by 3 runs.

Tweet Update: “Jimmy Neesham is out for the remainder of #SA20 due to an injury suffered against Eastern Cape on Thursday. The Pretoria Capitals family sends him best wishes for a swift recovery. Sterkte, Jimmy!”

James Neesham ruled out of SA20, confirms PC

In their innings against Sunrisers Eastern Cape, the Pretoria Capitals faced a challenging start as opener Will Jacks fell for a duck to Eastern Cape bowler Marco Jansen. Phil Salt also couldn’t contribute much, departing after scoring 20 runs from 9 balls, becoming the second victim of Jansen. Kyle Verreynne was dismissed by Daniel Worrall for 9 runs, and Rilee Rossouw followed suit after scoring 13 runs from 12 balls.

Colin Ingram managed only 4 runs from 6 balls before heading back to the pavilion. The 6th-wicket partnership between Shane Dadswell and James Neesham played a crucial role in adding vital runs to the total. Dadswell was eventually dismissed for 24 runs by Liam Dawson, while James Neesham fell victim to a run-out by Aiden Markram.

Captain Wayne Parnell contributed 13 runs from 14 balls, but the lower-order batsmen struggled to make an impact, leading to the conclusion of Pretoria Capitals’ innings before reaching 20 overs. Sunrisers Eastern Cape bowlers Marco Jansen and Daniel Worrall claimed 3 and 2 wickets respectively, while Liam Dawson and Aiden Markram each took 1 wicket.

In pursuit of the target, Sunrisers Eastern Cape found themselves at 32/4, facing a tough challenge as Pretoria Capitals bowlers Eathan Bosch, Daryn Dupavillon, and Adil Rashid dismantled the top order of Aiden Markram’s team. Openers Adam Rossington and Dawid Malan were dismissed for 4 and 6 runs, while Jordan Hermann and Markram fell for 8 and 3 runs, respectively.

Tristan Stubbs (35) and Patrick Kruger (22) formed a crucial partnership for the 5th wicket, contributing 40 runs from 35 balls. Despite their efforts, Pretoria Capitals continued their aggressive bowling, and following the dismissals of both batsmen, the lower order struggled to add significant runs. Ultimately, Sunrisers Eastern Cape concluded their innings at 122/9, falling short by 3 runs in the match.

Adil Rashid and Wayne Parnell were the standout bowlers for Pretoria Capitals, claiming 3 wickets each, while Daryn Dupavillon and Eathan Bosch chipped in with 2 and 1 wicket, respectively.

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In a gripping Super Smash 2023-24 encounter between Wellington and Central Districts, fielder Troy Johnson left fans in awe with a stunning tag catch, removing Districts opener Will Young. Positioned at mid-on, Johnson displayed exceptional athleticism during the sixth over of the second innings, chasing down Young’s lofted drive at the boundary. Despite being close to the line, he skillfully ran backward and completed a remarkable catch.

Although initially comforting himself, Troy Johnson managed to throw the ball to teammate Nick Kelly, who ultimately secured the catch. While both fielders were confident, the decision went to the umpires for review. Replays confirmed Johnson’s feet were inside the boundary when he held the ball, leading to Young being given out.

Turning to the match, Wellington set a target of 147/8 in 20 overs. Logan van Beek shone with an unbeaten 41 runs off 24 balls, rescuing Wellington in the slog overs. Openers Nathan Smith and Nick Greenwood faltered, and skipper Nick Kelly departed early, but Muhammad Abbas steadied the innings with partnerships of 27 and 24 runs for the fourth and fifth wickets, respectively. Abbas contributed 35 runs with 1 four and 2 sixes.

In pursuit of the target, Central Districts made a decent start, adding 36 runs with openers Will Young and Jack Boyle. Young fell for 7 runs due to Johnson’s brilliance, but Boyle went on to score a half-century, posting 57 runs off 43 balls with 10 fours. Tom Bruce and Doug Bracewell sealed the chase, remaining unbeaten on 26 and 30 runs, respectively. Central Districts secured a six-wicket victory, reaching the target in under 17 overs.

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Despite the defeat, Wellington retains the top spot in the Super Smash 2023-24 points table, winning five out of eight matches. Central Districts holds the third position, staying competitive in the tournament.