New Zealand will face Pakistan in the first Super 8 match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. This will be their first Super Eight clash, and both teams will look to begin this stage with a win.

New Zealand ended the group stage in second place, winning three out of four matches. The only one defeat came against South Africa. In their last game, they chased down 174 runs against Canada in quick time. Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra each made exciting half-centuries and led the team to a comfortable victory. The Kiwis seem balanced in both batting and bowling and will be prepared for this big game.

Meanwhile, Pakistan finished second in their group with three victories and one loss, which came against India. They enter the Super Eight round with strong confidence after a big win over Namibia. Batting first in that match, Pakistan posted 199/3, powered by Sahibzada Farhan’s unbeaten century. Their bowlers then took over, dismissing Namibia for a mere 99. Pakistan, with in-form players like Babar Azam, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi, will look to keep their winning streak going.

NZ vs PAK: Head-to-Head in T20Is

• Matches Played: 49
  
• Pakistan Won: 24
  
• New Zealand Won: 23
  
• Tied: 0
  
• No Result: 2

NZ vs PAK: Pitch Report

The pitch at R. Premadasa Stadium has been good for batting in this series. Teams are scoring well, and matches have been competitive. Batters are playing comfortably, while bowlers take wickets in the middle overs. Fast bowlers get bounce early on, but the pitch becomes easier for batting later. The average first-innings score is 172, so batting first helps.

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NZ vs PZK: Predicted Playing XIs

New Zealand (NZ):

Mitchell Santner (c), Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert (wk), James Neesham, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Finn Allen, Jacob Duffy, Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson

Pakistan (PAK):

Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Salman Agha (c), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Tariq, Faheem Ashraf, Abrar Ahmed