New Zealand vs Pakistan LIVE Score, T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eight: NZ vs PAK clash in Colombo under rain threat

After shouldering their team’s leap past the group-stage hurdle, Pakistan spinners will be expected to live up to the reputation through the Super Eights too, beginning with the Group 2 match against New Zealand at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday.

Traditionally a pace powerhouse, Pakistan’s pivoting has not even been subtle. It handed out 18 overs to its spinners against arch-rival India, with pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi restricted to just two overs. He was eventually benched in the final group game against Namibia. Usman Tariq, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Abrar Ahmed have combined for nearly two-thirds of Pakistan’s overs in the tournament and claimed 22 of the 33 wickets.

However, that game against India, Pakistan’s only match at this venue so far, also exposed the chinks in its attack. It needed Tariq’s variation-roulette to rein in India in the latter half after Abrar and Shadab were plundered for 55 in their four overs.

Southpaw Ishan Kishan had exploited his onside in that game, scoring 23 off just nine balls against them, and Mark Chapman would take a leaf out of that book to assert himself against the leg-break variety in Pakistan’s arsenal. Rachin Ravindra, another left-handed batter, only adds to Pakistan’s conundrum after he hit his stride in the last game against Canada.

– Abhishek Saini