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nz look to fight back

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Pakistan broke their five-match losing streak with a thrilling win over New Zealand in Dubai. The bigger gain though, according to captain Misbah-ul-Haq, was the success of Haris Sohail's part-time left-arm spin as Pakistan look for options for the sixth bowler's slot, following Mohammad Hafeez's ban.

Hafeez's suspension, coming soon after Saeed Ajmal's suspension, has left Pakistan's combination for the series and the World Cup a little uncertain, and the side is actively exploring its options with batsmen who can bowl. With Hafeez likely to leave after the second ODI, to work on remodeling his action, Pakistan will have another vacant slot in their XI open for experimentation. The challenge for Pakistan - who have had an erratic year in terms of ODI results - will be to ensure that they keep winning and gain some momentum before the World Cup despite the experiments. 

The batting innings of both teams followed similar trajectories in the last game. While Misbah brushed off Pakistan's top-order stutter as "an off day", New Zealand's top order was missing Martin Guptill. In the field, New Zealand were done in by the level-headed stand between Shahid Afridi and Haris Sohail, and Nathan McCullum later said the side had missed "a key moment" when they failed to keep Pakistan's chase in check.

Ahead of the second ODI, however, the side received a boost when Kane Williamson was cleared to resume bowling in international cricket, enhancing the side's spin options in conducive conditions. A 0-1 scoreline has become a familiar sight for New Zealand on this tour but they have shown the tenacity to fight back. They levelled the Test series with an innings victory a few weeks ago and Kane Williamson was hopeful some of that confidence would rub off on the vastly different ODI side.

Form guide

(most recent first, completed matches only)
Pakistan WLLLL
New Zealand LLLWW

In the spotlight

	Jimmy Neesham's highest score on the tour has been 11 © Getty Images Enlarge

Jimmy Neesham has faced a dip in batting form since New Zealand's tour to the West Indies earlier this year. He made 16 and 10 in the ODIs against South Africa in October and his highest score on this tour has been 17. Ross Taylor's century carried New Zealand in the last game but if the top order fails, runs from Neesham will be crucial.

Pakistan experimented with Sarfraz Ahmed's batting order in the first ODI, pushing him down to No. 7. He scored only 26 but his resourceful innings revived a flagging chase, and provided Haris Sohail and Shahid Afridi the launching pad for their match-winning stand. He could return to the top order after Hafeez leaves the squad but for this game, Pakistan could look at keeping his batting position flexible.

Team news

Martin Guptill missed the first game due to a hamstring niggle while Corey Anderson was rested as a precautionary measure after being hit on the helmet during the first T20. Their fitness will be assessed on the morning of the game.

New Zealand (probable) 1 Anton Devcich, 2 Dean Brownlie, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Adam Milne/Matt Henry

Pakistan are likely to opt for an unchanged XI but if they do change their XI, it could be in the bowling line-up with Sohail Tanvir possibly coming in in place of Umar Gul.

Pakistan 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Haris Sohail, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Shahid Afridi, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Mohammad Irfan

Pitch and conditions

The Sharjah pitch is known for high scores but during the last game that Pakistan played there - against Australia in October - it also offered help for the spinners. Williamson said that the track during the Test series was devoid of grass but had more pace and bounce than the other venues. Teams winning the toss and batting have won 66 of the 125 matches played at the venue.

Stats & trivia

• New Zealand's highest opening stand in 11 ODIs in 2014 is 56 - between Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder against West Indies in January 2014. New Zealand's opening batsmen have had only two half-century stands in 2014 compared to Pakistan, who have had five, including a century partnership
• The most successful chase at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium was the 285 for 4 by West Indies against Pakistan, way back in November 1993
• Pakistan and New Zealand have played ten ODIs in Sharjah, with Pakistan winning all ten. Pakistan have not won more than five ODIs against New Zealand at any other venue.

Quotes

"Given the conditions our fast bowlers did well in the first game despite little support from the pitch, and I hope they continue to bowl like that."
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq

"There will be some good memories for some of the lads, but it is important we focus on what lies in front of us and the Pakistan side is quite different as well, so all those challenges need to be considered."
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson on the influence of the Sharjah Test on the current side

kabadi worldcup match schedule and watch live here

kabadi worldcup 

 

The names of teams likely to participate include Pakistan, Argentina, USA, UK, Scotland, Canada, Seora Leon, Spain, Kenya and Denmark in men discipline whereas in women category teams form India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Kenya, UK, Malaysia, Denmark and Mexico would participate. These teams would fight for the total prize money of Rs. 6.97 crore out of which title winners in men and women categories would get Rs. 2 crore and Rs. 1 crore respectively. Second prize of Rs. 1 crore would be given to Runner up to men team whereas in women category it would be Rs. 51 Lakh. It was also decided to organize opening ceremony at Jalandhar whereas Bathinda would witness the sparkling closing ceremony. Besides that Jalalabad, Chohla Sahib, Sangrur, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Rupnagar, Khanna and Mansa cities have been selected for other kabaddi matches. He sough conduct of dope tests of players to ensure drug free world cup and also approved the amount of Rs 30 lakh for the same. To promote traditional games of Punjab, Badal asked the sports department to prepare a proposal to start Punjab Rural Games from this year which would not only boost the sports culture in the state but also give impetus to tourism. With a view to promote desi kushti (traditional wrestling) in the state, Deputy CM directed the cultural and sports department to contact with Pakistan Iran and Uzbekstan governments to send their wrestlers to India as Punjab has a great potential in this game.

5th World Kabaddi Cup 2014 – Schedule – Nov. 29th – Dec. 13th

CHANDIGARH: Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal on Friday, finalizing the schedule for 5th World Kabaddi Cup 2014 from Dec. 6th to Dec 20th, announced that its semifinals would be played in Punjab province of Pakistan.

Watch All Matches LIVE here at www.LIVEKABADDI.com (Dec. 6th-20th)

 

Kabaddi Matches	Date 2014	Location	Vancouver Time (PST)	UK Time (GMT)	Indian Time (IST)
Opening Ceremony	Dec 6th	Jalandhar	4:30 am	12:30 pm	6:00 pm
Sweden Vs. England (M) New Zealand Vs. England (W) Argentina Vs. Denmark (M)	Dec 7th	Gurdaspur	4:30 am	12:30 pm	6:00 pm
Australia Vs. Spain (M) India Vs. USA (W) Iran Vs. USA (M)	Dec 8th	Moga	10:30 pm (Dec 7th)	6:30 am	12:00 pm
Argentina Vs. Spain (M) Mexico Vs. Pakistan (W) Pakistan Vs. Denmark (M) Canada Vs. England (M)	Dec 9th	Ropar	10:30 pm (Dec 8th)	6:30 am	12:00 pm
Azerbaljan Vs. Denmark (W) Australia Vs. Iran (M) Pakistan Vs. England (W) India Vs. Spain (M)	Dec 10th	Khanna	10:30 pm (Dec.9th)	6:30 am	12:00 pm
Denmark Vs. Sweden (M) Canada Vs. Argentina (M) New Zealand Vs. Pakistan (W) Pakistan Vs. England (M)	Dec 11th	Chola Sahib	10:30 pm (Dec 10th)	6:30 am	12:00 pm
Rest Day	Dec 12th	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Spain Vs. Iran (M) India Vs. Denmark (W) India Vs. USA (M)	Dec 13th	Sultanpur	10:30 pm (Dec 12th)	6:30 am	12:00 pm
Denmark Vs. Canada (M) England Vs. Mexico (M) England Vs. Argentina (W) Pakistan Vs. Sweden (M)	Dec 14th	Hoshiarpur	10:30 pm (Dec 13th)	6:30 am	12:00 pm
USA Vs. Azerbaijan (W) USA Vs. Australia (M) Pakistan Vs. Canada (M) India Vs. Iran (M)	Dec 15th	Patiala	10:30 pm (Dec 14th)	6:30 am	12:00 pm
USA Vs. Spain (M) India Vs. Azerbaijan (W) India Vs. Australia (M) New Zealand Vs. Mexico (W)	Dec 16th	Jalalabad	10:30 pm (Dec 15th)	6:30 am	12:00 pm
Denmark Vs. USA (W) England Vs. Denmark (M) Sweden Vs. Canada (M) Pakistan Vs. Canada (M)	Dec 17th	Amritsar	10:30 pm (Dec 16th)	6:30 am	12:00 pm
Semi Finals (M) Semi Finals (W)	Dec 18th	Sangrur	10:30 pm (Dec 17th)	6:30 am	12:00 pm
3rd Position (W) 3rd Position (M) Women’s Final Match	Dec 19th	Barnala	10:30 pm (Dec 18th)	6:30 am	12:00 pm
Men’s Final Match Closing Ceremony	Dec 20th	Badal	7:30 am	12:30 pm	6:00 pm

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