The first ODI match of New Zealand vs Pakistan is going to be played today. It's hard to pick a favorite team. There is no consistency in the performance of Pakistani players. There is no batsman in the squad now who can perform well on a regular basis. Babar Azam is not in good form. He did not play well in the T20 series. If Babar doesn't play well today, it will be difficult for Pakistan to score big.
New Zealand's ODI squad is quite strong. If Pakistani batsmen perform as badly today as in previous matches then New Zealand will win today. Even in the ODI series, I consider New Zealand as the favourite.
Pakistan won the match. And they won quite easily. Due to the responsible performance of the top order players, it was possible for Pakistan to win the match. Fakhar Zaman scored 117 runs, Babar Azam 49, Imam Ul Haque 60 and Rizwan 42. Pakistan's batting line-up mainly depends on the performance of these batsmen. If Fakhar Zaman, Babar and Rizwan did not perform well, Pakistan would have lost badly in this match. If the top order batsmen Fakhar and Babar do not play well in the next match, then Pakistan will not be able to collect big. In the T20 series too, we saw erratic performances from the Pakistani batsmen.
A fantastic start to the ODI series for Pakistan vs New Zealand! Their batting display was simply amazing. While Fakhar Zaman played an incredible innings to lead Pakistan's chase, but unfortunately couldn't finish the job himself. Nevertheless, Pakistan should be pleased with their batters performance as they registered a smooth victory in the series opener. But, it's crucial that they need to maintain their momentum and stay focused for the remaining matches. This Pakistan team has shown that they have the batting talent and there's every reason to believe that they can seal the series.