Pakistan, sixth in the points table, won the toss and opted to bowl in the key league clash of the 2023 World Cup against fourth-placed New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Kane Williamson, who had sat out since his injury in the Bangladesh match, returned to lead the side. To accommodate him, New Zealand left out Will Young. They also replaced the injured Matt Henry with Ish Sodhi, and Jimmy Neesham with Mark Chapman.

As a result of these changes, the New Zealand XI has exactly two fast bowlers – Tim Southee, who himself returned from an injury recently, and Trent Boult. They will have to back their spinners – Sodhi and Mitchell Santner, backed by the part-timers – to do the bulk of the bowling.

Pakistan, on the other hand, opted for a near-opposite tactic by replacing leg-spinner Usama Mir with fast bowler Hassan Ali. In doing this, they bolstered their pace attack, which already has Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Wasim.

At the same time, they are now without three spin-bowling all-rounders who turn the ball away from the right-hander – Mir, Shadab Khan, and Mohammad Nawaz.

Their main spinner for the match will be Iftikhar Ahmed, who has impressed with his off-breaks at this World Cup. Agha Salman also bowls off-breaks, while Saud Shakeel does bowl some left-arm spin.

Pakistan XI: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Agha, Hassan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim, Haris Rauf.

New Zealand XI: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Latham (wk), Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.