Colombo [Sri Lanka], February 21 : Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha won the toss and opted to bat first against the Mitchell Santner-led New Zealand in the first Super 8 stage clash of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday.
Both New Zealand and Pakistan qualified for the Super 8 stage after winning three out of their four T20 World Cup 2026 group-stage matches, respectively.
While New Zealand registered wins against Afghanistan, UAE and Canada, Pakistan clinched victories against USA, Netherlands and Namibia. New Zealand's sole loss came against the T20 WC 2024 runners-up South Africa while Pakistan lost to the defending champions and arch-rivals India.
New Zealand vs Pakistan T20 WC 2026 Super 8 match playing 11s:
New Zealand: Tim Seifert(w), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner(c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan(w), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Mirza, Usman Tariq.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, the Pakistan captain said they've made one change, bringing in Fakhar Zaman while Khawaja Nafay misses out. He further noted that Faheem Ashraf comes in as a pace-bowling all-rounder, giving them two pacers along with multiple spin options. He also acknowledged the opposition as a quality side and said the team is focused on playing their best game.
"We have one change. Fakhar is playing and Nafay is not playing. We have one pacer, Faheem Ashraf - he is a good all-rounder. So we have 2 pacers and lot of spin options. They are a quality side, we know that. We have to play our A game and that is what we look forward to today," Salman Ali Agha said at toss.