Pakistan, New Zealand clash in first Super 8 game of T20 World Cup today

Pakistan cricket team is determined to win as it will play its first match of the super 8 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (WC), 2026 against New Zealand at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo today, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.

The match, which is the 41st of the tournament, will start at 6:30 PM according to Pakistan Standard Time (PST).

The entire nation is praying for the victory of the national team.

There could be no practice session in Colombo on Friday due to rain.

The match against New Zealand is crucial if the Green Shirts are to qualify for the semi-finals, scheduled to be played on March 4 and 5, respectively.

Pakistan and New Zealand enter the fixture with similar momentum in their favour as they both finished second in their respective groups, winning three of their four matches.

While India succeeded in emphatically beating Pakistan, the latter won all of its other three matches as they trounced the USA, the Netherlands and Namibia.

The two sides have locked horns seven times in T20 WCs, with five victories to Pakistan’s credit.

Their last meeting in the tournament came in the semi-final of the 2022 edition, which the Green Shirts won comfortably by seven wickets.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's last victory over Pakistan dates back to the 2016 edition, where they prevailed by 22 runs.

Following the New Zealand challenge, Pakistan are due to take on two-time champions England in Kandy on February 24, while their remaining Super Eights fixture is scheduled against co-hosts Sri Lanka on February 28.

Squads

Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wk) and Usman Tariq.

New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi and Cole McConchie.