New Zealand v Pakistan, 1st Test – Fantasy Cricket Tips & Playing XI

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by Karthik Atchuta

Fantasy Cricket Tips – New Zealand v Pakistan 1st Test

Date: 26-30 Dec, 2020 – 3:30am IST
Venue: Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui

NZ Test Squad: Tom Latham, Tom Blundell, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner

PAK Test Squad: Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Imran Butt, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (c/wk), Faheem Ashraf, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Afridi, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sohail Khan, Zafar Gohar, Naseem Shah

Fantasy XI:

Batsmen: Kane Williamson, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls

WK Batsman: Mohammad Rizwan, BJ Watling

All Rounders: Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam

Bowlers: Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson (vc), Tim Southee, Shaheen Afridi

Just like the NZ-WI series am going with Kane Williamson as my captain and Kyle Jamieson as my vice captain. Why change a super hit combo?

BJ Watling has piled up his career highest of 205 at Bay Oval – I just slipped him in as Pakistan has a superior bowling attack than West Indies.

X-factors for me are Faheem Ashraf and Henry Nicholls – Ashraf’s all round abilities can be a positive for Pakistan in overseas conditions while Henry Nicholls has been that player who adapted to tough situations and helped his team crossing the line.

Bowling wise I went New Zealand all the way with Boult, Southee and Jamieson – as Shaheen Shah Afridi takes the Pakistan quota to 4 players in the fantasy XI.

Neil Wagner and Naseem Shah are 2 players I was tempted to draft in playing XI but couldn’t due to the quality of players at disposal.

Probable Playing XIs:

Pakistan: Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Imran Butt, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (c/wk), Faheem Ashraf, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Afridi, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sohail Khan, Zafar Gohar, Naseem Shah

New Zealand: Tom Latham, Tom Blundell, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling (wk), Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner