3 things Pakistan need to do in order to bounce back in T20I series against New Zealand

Pakistan Cricket Team has gone under transformation after their dismal show in the ODI World Cup 2023. They failed to qualify for the knockouts of the tournament for the second consecutive year. The Men in Green management fully changed after the major event. Babar Azam stepped down from the captaincy across the formats, and there was new management with former captain Mohammad Hafeez named as the director of cricket. The team has named Shan Masood as the test captain and Shaheen Shah Afridi as the captain for the T20Is. 

As they do not have any ODI in the current year they are yet to announce an ODI captain. They are currently in the 5-match T20I series against New Zealand. The 1992 World Champions are yet to win a game in the series as they have lost the first two games. If they lose the third game as well the series will be over for them.

This is their last series ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 and Shaheen's side would love to finish the series on a high note as they would like to qualify for the knockout in the shortest format of the mega tournament. In the article, we will be looking into the reasons need to do to bounce back in the T20I series against the Kiwis. 

Here are the 3 Reasons Pakistan need to do to bounce back in the T20I series

3. Fielding Improvement

The Men in Green's fielding has been a problem over time. Shaheen's side has been poor in the field. They have dropped several important catches at crucial moments that have cost the team as well. The fielding of the side is also not up to the mark. Pakistan's fielding has been criticized and considered poor as well. This has been their main problem over the years as they have failed to deliver match-winning fielding under pressure. It is important to note that the team needs to go through phases of improvement if they want to win the series. 

2. Middle-Order batting 

The team's middle-order batting has been questioned in recent times as the side has lost games from the advantageous situations. Iftikhar Ahmed and Azam Khan have both kept their spots in the starting lineup despite their dismal performances in the first two games, which shows the management's faith in them. In the second Twenty20 International, when Pakistan was leading the chase, both players were especially let down after they failed to take through their side. 

1. New ball bowling 

There has been a problem for the side as they have failed to pick wickets with the new ball. Shaheen Afridi is their only wicket-taking option with the new ball. The speedster has failed to scalp wickets in the powerplay and they have also leaked runs in the powerplay as well. Except for the skipper the team has no bowler who has been effective with the new ball and they need to pick up early wickets to win the games.