Toss New Zealand chose to field first against Pakistan

New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first in the third T20 international against Pakistan. Twenty four hours after Pakistan swept New Zealand aside after bowling them out for 90, the visitors elected to let Pakistan set a target instead.

New Zealand were hampered by the unavailability of Josh Clarkson and Ben Lister, who did not travel to the ground due to illness.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam said he would have opted to bat first and that the pitch looked better for batting than Saturday’s surface. Pakistan made just the one change to their side, with Abbas Afridi replacing Mohammad Amir.

The hosts lead the five-match series 1-0.

Pakistan 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 4 Usman Khan, 5 Iftikhar Ahmed, 6 Muhammad Irfan Niazi, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Mohammad Abbas Afridi, 11 Abrar Ahmed

New Zealand Tim Robinson, Tim Seifert (wk), Mark Chapman, Dean Foxcroft, Cole McConchie, James Neesham, Michael Bracewell (capt), Jacob Duffy, Ish Sodhi, Zak Foulkes, Will O’Rourke