Pakistan-New Zealand ODI series trophy unveiling ceremony held in UAE

ABU DHABI: A simple and graceful ceremony of unveiling the trophy for a three-match series of One-day Internationals between Pakistan and New Zealand was held here on Tuesday.

After a one-sided Twenty20 International series, Pakistan will face New Zealand in the ODI series starting on Wednesday ( November 7). The first match will be played at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

The match will start at 4:00 pm Pakistan Standard Time (PST).

Pakistan won the T20I series, which ended on Sunday, 3-0. The No.1 T20 side in the world secured a 47-run victory in the final game to win their 11th consecutive series in the shortest format of the game.

Corey Anderson has been ruled out of the ODI with a heel injury which kept him out of the third T20I as well. It has been reported that Todd Astle will also miss the first ODI and it is unclear whether he will be fit enough to come back later in the series.

New Zealand is already without their regulars Martin Guptill and Mitchell Santner. Tom Latham is expected to open the innings with Colin Munro in the absence of Guptill.

With all these injury concerns, the Kane Williamson's side will be under some pressure going into this one-day series.

Pakistan will be playing their first ODI since the Asia Cup 2018. Mohammad Hafeez is back in the one-day side after strong performances in the Tests and T20Is. Imad Wasim too was called back in the side following his comeback in the T20 format for Pakistan.

According to ESPN Cricinfo, Mohammad Amir is still out of the side, so the pressure will be on Shaheen Afridi and Junaid Khan to deliver.

The Abu Dhabi pitch produced some good games of cricket during the Asia Cup, even though the matches were not high-scoring. The wicket is expected to be slow and should favor the spinners.

The team batting first is likely to have an advantage. The weather will be hot and dry throughout the day, with little dew available during the evening.