New Zealand’s Super Eight campaign in the T20 World Cup begins on Saturday against Pakistan in Colombo, ahead of games against Sri Lanka and England at the same venue.
Pakistan have a strong spin attack and have played all four of their games in Sri Lanka.
Kiwi batsman Mark Chapman was certain that Pakistan’s spinners, such as the unconventional Usman Tariq, who stops in his delivery stride and bowls with deceptive variation, including side-arm, could be handled by New Zealand.
“Obviously, Tariq has a pretty unique action with the way that he stops at the crease and that’s something to factor in. But each of the Pakistan spinners poses their own threat,” AFP quoted Chapman as saying on Friday.
Chapman also stated that New Zealand can rapidly adjust to playing on Sri Lankan surfaces after having played all of their previous games in India.
Although the pace, bounce, and spin of the Colombo pitch will differ significantly from those of Chennai and Ahmedabad, where New Zealand played their group matches, Chapman claimed that the players were fully aware of the differences.
“I think guys understand what they need to do on slower wickets after playing in India where pitches were batting friendly. So, we’re pretty confident that we’ll face up to whatever conditions are in front of us. A lot of the guys have played a lot of cricket here before,” the middle-order batsman said.
Five of their seven prior T20 World Cup meetings have seen Pakistan defeat New Zealand.
After missing the match against Canada due to a stomach ailment, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner is expected to make a comeback.
“He’s pretty excited to get back to the park. And, you know, barring any last-minute sickness, I think he’ll be there,” said Chapman.
After leaving for home for the birth of his first child, pacer Lockie Ferguson will only return to Sri Lanka on Friday night. After his lengthy travel, Ferguson missed Tuesday’s victory against Canada and is unlikely to play against Pakistan.
