1:06 PM
Farhan
New Zealand recovered from a terrible start - losing Jesse Ryder first ball - to surge to a strong total in their pursuit of a series-clinching victory at Seddon Park. Martin Guptill fired for the second time in a row, James Franklin performed after being promoted to No. 3, and feisty contributions from the middle and lower order boosted New Zealand to 185 for 7.
More to follow ...
Toss Pakistan chose to bowl v New Zealand
The rainy weather that washed out the women's Twenty20 international between New Zealand and Australia cleared for the men's clash between the hosts and Pakistan to begin on time in Hamilton. Shahid Afridi decided to bowl in overcast conditions in a game his team must win to keep the three-match series alive. Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, said he would have bowled as well.
The pitch at Seddon Park is expected to assist seamers early on and appears to be another hard, quick surface that the fast men on both sides will relish.
New Zealand ended their 14-match winless drought with a comfortable five-wicket victory on Sunday, but both debutants from the first Twenty20 found themselves on the sidelines as Ian Butler came into the team and middle-order batsman Luke Woodcock made his international debut. Brendon McCullum remained sidelined by injury and Ross Taylor will continue to fill in for Daniel Vettori, who is being rested for the three-match series. Pakistan made a solitary change to their XI from the first match as Fawad Alam was replaced by Asad Shafiq.
The Hamilton weather is expected to hold out for the duration of the match.
