Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and chose to bat against New Zealand on Tuesday in the fourth match of a Twenty20 tri-series in Christchurch.
Pakistan made just one change from the side that beat the Black Caps by six wickets at the same Hagley Oval venue on Saturday with teenage fast-bowler Naseem Shah coming in for Harris Rauf.
A win for Pakistan will put them in Friday’s final of the week-long tournament, a warm-up for the T20 World Cup in Australia which begins on Sunday.
New Zealand made two changes from the team which beat Bangladesh by eight wickets on Sunday with bowlers Adam Milne and Trent Boult replaced by Mitchell Santner and Blair Tickner.
“The pitch looks good, so we want to get a few runs on the board and put pressure on them,” said Pakistan skipper Azam, whose team are chasing a third straight win.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson hoped the Christchurch pitch would hold up for the hosts when they bat second.
“It probably won’t change too much, but we have seen the surface deteriorate a little bit in the last few games, so we will adjust with the ball, first up,” he said.
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (capt), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Michael Bracewell, Blair Tickner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Mitchell Santner
Pakistan: Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani
Umpires: Alex Wharf (ENG), Wayne Knights (NZL)
TV Umpire: Shaun Haig (NZL)
Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)