New Zealand win toss and bat against Pakistan in tri-series opener at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium – Sport

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and opted to bat against Pakistan in the opening match of a tri-nation series in Lahore on Saturday.

The match is taking place at the revamped Gaddafi Stadium, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last night in a dazzling ceremony with music performances.

Experienced New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson was ruled out of the match with a hamstring injury.

South Africa is the third team in the event, seen as a warm-up for the eight-nation Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates from February 19.

Each team plays two matches before the top two compete in the final in Karachi on February 14.

While Pakistan have recently struggled at the T20 International and Test fronts, they have been a force to reckon with in the One-day International format — in which the tri-nation series and the Champions Trophy are to be played — winning three series on a trot towards the end of last year.

Pakistan’s squad for the tri-nation series and the following eight-team extravaganza, however, has raised questions, with the selections of all-rounders Faheem Ashraf and Khushdil Shah.

So much so that there have been speculations that Pakistan will make changes in the Champion Trophy squad by the Feb 12 deadline, the day they take on South Africa in their tri-nation series.

Mohammad Rizwan clarified during a press conference yesterday: “The squad that has been announced is in front of everyone, and there’s no such thing that we will make changes to it.”

“We have a match tomorrow, and we have three to four days, but it’s not necessary that we are unhappy with our team or that we need to think about changes.”

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