New Zealand v Pakistan betting tips, prediction & odds; 1st Test preview
Welcome to our New Zealand v Pakistan betting tips, prediction and odds analysis for the 1st Test at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, from Saturday, December 26.
Pakistan are facing a massive hurdle as they head into this Test against powerful opponents who thrive on their home turf. The tourists have had captain Babar Azam and opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq ruled out because of fractured thumbs both players suffered in training recently.
To add to their injury woes, leg-spinning all-rounder Shadab Khan, who captained the Pakistan team in the 2-1 T20 series loss to the Black Caps has also been ruled out of the Test with a thigh injury. Left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar has been called up to replace rising star Shadab.
New Zealand are ranked second in the latest ICC Test rankings behind only Australia and have won home series against England, India and the West Indies in the past couple of seasons.
In contrast Pakistan have slipped to seventh in the ICC rankings and have struggled in the longest form of the game.
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New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is ranked the No.3 Test batsman in the world, with Tom Latham ranked 10; Pakistan skipper Azam is the only batsman from his country in the top 20.
And to add further the difficulty facing Pakistan, New Zealand pace bowlers Neil Wagner and Tim Southee are ranked third and fourth in the world.
Throw in the fact New Zealand have won five of the past six Tests between these teams and you can see it will take something extraordinary for the tourists to spring an upset.
Wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan has been named captain in place of Babar Azam, with team officials unsure if Azam will be back for the second Test.
New Zealand v Pakistan Test series schedule
December 26-30: 1st Test, Bay Oval, Tauranga, 11am local time
January 3-7: 2nd Test, Hagley Oval, Christchurch, 11am local time
New Zealand Test squad
Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling (wk), Will Young.
Pakistan Test squad
Mohammad Rizwan (c, wk), Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Butt, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Zafar Gohar, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Yasir Shah.
Continue reading for our free New Zealand v Pakistan tips for the 1st Test at Bay Oval starting on Saturday.
NZ v Pakistan 1st Test odds
Head to head odds: New Zealand $1.36, Pakistan $6.25, draw $6.25
Man of the match betting:
$7 Kane Williamson (NZ)
$10 Trent Boult (NZ), Tim Southee (NZ), Neil Wagner (NZ)
$11 Tom Latham (NZ), Ross Taylor (NZ)
$13+ others
Top run-scorer New Zealand 1st innings odds:
$3.25 Kane Williamson
$4.50 Tom Latham, Ross Taylor
$6.50 Tom Blundell, Henry Nicholls
$7 Will Young
Top run-scorer Pakistan 1st innings odds:
$4 Azhar Ali
$4.75 Shan Masood
$5.50 Abid Ali
$6 Mohammad Rizwan
$6.50 Haris Sohail, Imran Butt, Fawad Alam
Top wicket-taker 1st innings New Zealand odds:
$3.75 Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner
$4.25 Kyle Jamieson
$6.50 Mitchell Santner
Top wicket-taker 1st innings Pakistan odds:
$3.50 Mohammad Abbas
$4 Shaheen Afridi
$4.50 Naseem Shah, Yasir Shah
$4.75 Sohail Khan
New Zealand v Pakistan betting tips
Our cricket tipsters have examined the odds and found several New Zealand v Pakistan tips for the first Test.
Yasir Shah top wicket-taker 1st innings for Pakistan
The veteran leg-spinner has an incredible record against the Kiwis in recent contests, though to be fair most of his big hauls came outside New Zealand. Yasir averages almost four wickets per innings across sevens Tests against the Kiwis. He might be better later in the Test but we think he will get plenty of overs in the first innings.
Neil Wagner most wickets 1st innings for NZ
Wagner was close to unplayable in a rare Test played at this ground when took eight wickets for the match at an average of under 17. He is a well established wicket-taker and sits high in the ICC Test bowling rankings. The Kiwis have a powerful Test attack and Wagner is just as likely as any of them to be suited by the conditions.
New Zealand v Pakistan prediction 26/12/2020
We are focusing on the player markets for this match because we cannot see much chance of a Pakistan upset, despite their win in the final, dead rubber T20 International on Wednesday. That was a reminder that Pakistan are a dangerous side, especially when written off. But with three quality players missing from a side already light on for quality, the Blacks Caps should win and win easily. A warning if betting on the match outcome. Rain is forecast for Sunday and the final day Wednesday. Our final New Zealand v Pakistan prediction? NZ to win comfortably as long as the weather does not intervene too badly.
New Zealand v Pakistan Test Details
New Zealand: TVNZ 1, Spark Sport. Pakistan: PTV Sports. Australia: Fox Sports, KAYO.
All of the top Australian betting sites and best Indian bookmakers offer betting on the cricket, while international readers can check out the best cricket betting sites.
The game starts at 11am local time (3am Pakistan time) on December 26, 2020.
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