Summary The match is being played at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.
MOUNT MAUNGANUI (Dunya News/AFP) – Pakistan have on Sunday won the toss in the third and final Twenty20 International (T20I) of the series against the Blackcaps and decided to bat first.
The match is being played at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui and started at 11:00 AM (PST).
Pakistan will dethrone New Zealand from top T20I ranking if the Green Shirts win today’s game. Pakistan are at second position at the moment with 124 rating points, just a fraction behind the Kiwis (125).
"It looks like a good batting wicket," said captain Sarfraz Ahmed.
"If we can win we will be number one in the world."
It was a good toss to win, with New Zealand captain Kane Williamson saying he would also have batted first.
Pakistan have been forced to make one change, with Aamer Yamin in for Hasan Ali, who injured an ankle playing football during their warm-up.
New Zealand have brought in Ross Taylor for the injured Colin Munro, and Tom Blundell for the dropped Glenn Phillips.
Tim Southee, who was rested for the second game, returns to the side with Seth Rance sidelined, and Anaru Kitchen replaces Ben Wheeler.
The three-match series is levelled 1-1. The Kiwis had defeated Pakistan in first encounter by seven wickets, and the Green Shirts had outclassed New Zealand by 48 runs in the second match. Both games remained one-sided.
Teams:
Pakistan XI: Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Haris Sohail, Umer Amin, Shadab Khan, Aamir Yamin, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Rumman Raees
.jpg)
New Zealand XI: Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Anaru Kitchen, Tom Bruce, Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Tom Blundell, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
Umpires: Wayne Knights (NZL), Shaun Haig (NZL)
TV Umpire: Chris Brown (NZL)
Match referee: Richie Richardson (WIS)
