Bangladesh captain Nurul Hasan won the toss and elected to bowl against Pakistan — but only after the ice cleared – in the opening match of the Twenty20 tri-series in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday.
The two teams and tournament host New Zealand are playing two round matches and a final next week in preparation for the T20 World Cup in Australia.
The tourists will need to adjust to the cold conditions in Christchurch, which is recovering from a cold blast this week that left ground staff clearing snow from the cover and outfield at Hagley Oval on Thursday.
The temperature climbed to a relatively warm 12 degrees Celsius (54 F) for the start of the match, much to the relief of Pakistan captain Babar Azam.
“It’s been a bit chilly, but it’s sunny today,” Babar said after losing the toss.
“And the conditions are a bit different because New Zealand has a bit of a bounce, but we’re ready for anything.”
Our playing XI for the tri-series opener 👇#PAKvBAN | #NZTriSeries pic.twitter.com/R4yIldV76e
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 7, 2022
Hasan confirmed that regular captain and popular all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan had arrived in Christchurch on Thursday, several days after his teammates, and would miss the opening match.
He should be available for the remaining matches of the tournament.
New Zealand will play Pakistan on Saturday and Bangladesh on Sunday at the same venue.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Muhammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Haider Ali, Asif Ali, Muhammad Nawaz, Muhammad Wasim, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Durman.
Bangladesh: Sabir Rehman, Mehdi Hasan, Afif Hussain, Mossadegh Hussain, Noorul Hasan (capt), Liton Das, Yasir Ali, Hasan Mahmood, Tasin Ahmad, Mustafizur Rahman, Naseem Ahmed.
Umpires: Sean Hague (NZL), Wayne Knights (NZL)
TV Umpire: Alex Warf (ENG)
Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)
