Pakistan vs New Zealand 1st ODI LIVE Score Updates: Babar Azam in focus as PAK – NZ kick off tri-series

Pakistan vs New Zealand 1st ODI LIVE Score Updates: Mohammed Rizwan-led Pakistan and Mitchell Santner-led New Zealand kick off the tri-series tournament with the first match at the newly renovated Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Both teams will relish the opportunity to get to grips with the situation and iron out any wrinkles in their playing XI ahead of next month’s Champions Trophy.

Pakistan and New Zealand will also kick off the Champions Trophy, with the only change being that the match will be played in Karachi rather than Lahore.

It will be a battle of express pace attacks as both sides lack quality spinning options. Salman Ali Agha and Abrar Ahmed are the only two spin options in the Pakistan squad, while Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra will be the main spinners for the Kiwis.

While much of the focus will be on how the relatively new captains manage their sides in the build-up to a major tournament, attention will also be on how Babar Azam performs at the top of the order, a position in which he has rarely batted in ODI cricket.