Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and chose to bowl first in the opening match of the Champions Trophy in Karachi on Wednesday. This marks the first global cricket event hosted in Pakistan since 1996.
Pakistan's pace attack is boosted by the return of Haris Rauf, who had a muscular sprain in the lower chest during last week's tri-series. Abrar Ahmed is the only frontline spinner for Pakistan.
For New Zealand, Rachin Ravindra, who sustained a serious head injury in the tri-series opener, is unavailable for this match. The Black Caps are also missing their pace bowlers, Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears, both sidelined due to injury.
Pakistan and New Zealand are in Group A, alongside India and Bangladesh, while Group B consists of Australia, England, South Africa, and Afghanistan. Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, which will run until March 9.
India is playing its matches in the United Arab Emirates after political tensions prevented their team from traveling to Pakistan.
Teams:
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Salman Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (captain), Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young
Umpires: Richard Kettleborough (ENG) and Sharfuddoula (BAN)
TV Umpire: Joel Wilson (WIS)
Match referee: Andrew Pycroft (ZIM)
