WT20: Stats give Pakistan slight edge over in-form New Zealand

Pakistan will be under pressure against New Zealand after losing to India when they face the in-form side in their third World Twenty20 encounter at Mohali on Tuesday.

Stats indicate a slight advantage to Pakistan, but current form of the two teams suggests otherwise.

Here’s a statistical preview of the match:

• This will be 15thT20I between Pakistan and New Zealand. Pakistan has won 8 of 14 T20Is played between the two countries, but the last two games were won by New Zealand earlier this year.
• Shahid Afridi is the only player in both teams to have appeared in all 14 T20Is played, New Zealand’s Ross Taylor has played 12 T20Is against Pakistan.
• This will be the 5thWorld T20 encounter between the two teams. Pakistan won three of the previous four; New Zealand won the 2010 WorldT20 encounter by a narrow margin of 1 run.
• Pakistan has played 8 matches [7ODIs and one Test] at Punjab Cricket Association stadium, Mohali. Twice they met New Zealand in this ground, in ODIs, and lost on both occasions.
• New Zealand has won only two ODIs at Mohali’s Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, both against Pakistan. [In 1997 and 2006]
• Shahid Afridi leads the head-to-head bowling chart in T20Is competition between Pakistan and New Zealand with 19 wickets in 14 games at an average of 18.31. New Zealand’s Tim Southee has 13 wickets in 6 T20Is.
• New Zealand’s Martin Guptill is top run getter among the two teams, scoring 296 runs in 11 T20Is. Mohammad Hafeez stands scored with 280 runs in equal number of matches.
• New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum is leading run scorer in T20Is with 2,140 runs but he is not part of New Zealand’s World T20 squad. Martin Guptil, with 1,711 runs, is currently stands at 3rdposition in list of all time T20I runs scorers of the black caps.
• Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik needs 87 more runs to become only the third Pakistani player to have scored 1,500 runs in T20Is. Currently Umar Akmal (1,633) and M Hafeez (1,614) are two Pakistanis in 1500+runs club.