Pakistan meets the Black Caps in the ARY Gold Cup at Sharjah, after their last meeting in New Zealand where Pakistan lost the one-day series to the hosts but managed to draw the test series 1-1 before the tour concluded. With half a dozen players afflicted with injuries and the raw youngsters flown to replace them, Pakistan was certainly not at its best.

The New Zealand having accepted a last minute invitation to replace India in the tournament decided to enter a new look team led by Craig Mcmillan instead of the regular skipper Stephen Fleming. They also decided to give rest to wicket keeper Adam Parore, opening batsman Nathan Astle and Roger Twose after a hectic home series against Pakistan. Both the teams are thus carrying a bunch of promising youngsters to gain experience of a tough tri-nation championship.

Of the two matches played so far, Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by 16 runs while the Black Caps lost to the Pearl islanders by 106 runs. With a magnificent opening stand of 82 runs in 15 overs their defeat was a surprise for the cricket lovers. Except for opener Chris Nevin who laid a solid foundation for the innings with an invaluable contribution of 48 runs followed by Mathew Sinclair who played a defiant innings of 60, the other batsmen succumbed to Sri Lanka's spin bowling. The whole team crumbled for 163, as against a winning target of 270.

Notwithstanding the merits of new players in the side, their performance in the last match indicated that they were extremely vulnerable to quality spin. The tail being rather too long, the batsmen in the middle and lower order did not show the tenacity of holding ground by staying at the crease long enough. The wickets tumbling one after the other showed that the batting was too fragile. They were somehow mesmerized by Muttiah Muralitharan and his spin progidies.

Though the New Zealand squad has stars like Craig McMillan, Mathew Sinclair and Chris Harris capable of rising to any occasion, the team's dismal performance against Sri Lanka has definitely lowered their rating as compared to the other competitors.

As for their opponents, with a fighting victory over Sri Lanka Pakistan is riding high in morale, spirits as well as performance. If Pakistan decides to field the same combination that won the first match and the pitch behaves in the same manner, the trio of spinners Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi can be employed to achieve the maximum effect. Waqar Younis would always be there to achieve a break through and then to wreck the tail.

Unless the Black Caps can spring a surprise, the observers rate Pakistan the favorites to win the match. If the black Caps fought in the manner they did against Pakistan on their own soil, the match will be full of excitement.

© CricInfo