Pakistan win toss, choose to bat first against New Zealand in warm-up match

Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first against New Zealand in the third warm-up match of World Cup 2023, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Friday.

The match between the two teams is being played at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, India.

Pakistan faced an early setback, with a score of just 46 runs at the loss of 2 wickets in 11.2 overs.

However, the duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan stepped up to anchor the innings, pushing the total to 80/2 by the 18th over. As the teams approached the end of the 18th over, rain disrupted play, leading to a pause in the game.

After the rain stopped, the game resumed from where it was paused. With Babar and Rizwan showing strong form and determination, there's potential for Pakistan to set a challenging target.

If New Zealand does not manage to dismiss them soon, Pakistan's score might comfortably surpass 300.

It is to be noted here that Pakistan are playing their first warm-up match of the World Cup 2023 against New Zealand.

The green shirts will play their second warm-up match against Australia on October 3 at the same stadium.

It merits a mention here that due to Eid Milad-ul-Nabi and Hindu festivals, the local administration had declined to provide extra security for the match.

It was then decided that the entry of spectators to the stadium for the Pak-Kiwi warm-up match would be blocked.

The ticketing company had also been asked to refund the money of the spectators.