Pakistan v New Zealand 1st Test Prediction

The under rated Pakistani team lashed back strongly against the mighty Australians in the two Test series and white washed it 2-0 in the United Arab Emirates. Earlier, the visitors won the only T20 and swept the three One Day International series at 3-0 and they were anticipating the same result against the hosts in two Tests. Pakistan will host a three Test series vs. New Zealand in the U.A.E and they will expect an encouraging result against the visitors. The Black Caps had a wonderful tour of West Indies in June, 2014 where they clinched the three Test series against the home side at 2-1.

The first ever Test between two countries was played from October 13-17, 1955 in Karachi that was won by Pakistan by an innings and one run. The last one was held at Basin Reserve, Wellington from January 15-19, 2011, and the game ended into a draw. Both teams have taken part in 50 Tests, Pakistan won 23, lost 7 while 20 of them were drawn.

Players to watch

Pakistani batsmen humiliated the Kangaroos bowlers by hammering nine centuries in just two Tests. Younis Khan was unstoppable throughout the series and he was the highest runs scorer with 468 runs at an awesome average of 156.00 comprising three hundreds. Misbah-ul-Haq created a new world record of blasting the fastest Test fifty, a hundred and ended up with two tons and one fifty. Azhar Ali smashed two centuries along with one fifty whereas Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed also registered three figures. The lethal spinners duo of Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah were unplayable, they grabbed 14 and 12 wickets respectively while Imran Khan, Rahat Ali and Mohammad Hafeez assisted them nicely.

Kane Williamson was the top scorer in the three Test series vs. West Indies by smashing 413 runs at an excellent average of 82.60 with two centuries and one fifty. Tom Latham, James Neesham and BJ Watling scored lots of runs while Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor are their dependable batsmen. Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Neil Wagner, Ish Sodhi and Neil Wagner form a strong bowling unit whereas Corey Anderson is a useful all-rounder.

Time & Venue

Sunday, November 9 – November 13, 2014 @ 06:00 GMT, 10:00 local at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

Weather

Prediction of bright and sunny weather during entire five days with the temperatures around 21-31ᵒC.

Toss

The winning captain will prefer to bat first.

The Pitch

The wicket has proved good for batting and the spinners will get most out of it.

Teams

Pakistan – Misbah-ul-Haq (C), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan, Taufeeq Umar, Shan Masood, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Talha.

New Zealand - Brendon McCullum (C), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Mark Craig, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Hamish Rutherford, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson.

Prediction

Team Pakistan will be the favourite to win the opening Test.