First Test: Pakistan win toss against NZ, opts to bat

Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq said this is a new series, we will try to focus, do our basics, and determined to do well in this series also.

After losing the toss, the NZ skipper said: “”We’ve got some hard work to do to keep these guys to a relatively low total in the first innings since the pitch will obviously deteriorate as the game goes on.

He added that we were going with a slightly different combination, we needed extra bowling options. “We’ve got a pretty good mix of left and right-handers as well, and that could help us combat the spin that Pakistan will throw at us.”

Pakistan are playing the same squad against that defeated Australia.

Pakistan recently whitewashed the formidable Australian side in a two-match test series in the UAE.

Pakistan Team: Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq*, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed†, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan.

New Zeland team: TWM Latham, BB McCullum, KS Williamson*, LRPL Taylor, CJ Anderson, JDS Neesham, BJ Watling†, TG Southee, MD Craig, IS Sodhi, TA Boult.