Afridi, Vettori under spotlight as ODI series begins

Pakistan has a very well balanced ODI team and the players have the potential to upset any team in the world.AFP/File photo

WELLINGTON: New Zealand and Pakistan will go head-to-head against each other in the first One-day International of the six-match series commencing here on Saturday.

Kiwis won the Twenty20 series 2-1 at home last month and ended 2010 with high hopes for the new year. However, things changed when Pakistan bounced back in Test matches, winning the two-match series 1-0.

Both teams will now be looking to take the edge in the ODI series as it will be their final assignment before the World Cup, scheduled to start from Feb 19 in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has returned to lead the team in ODI series but is reportedly under a lot of pressure to do well since his personal performance as an all-rounder as well as ODI captain is under a spotlight after a chequered graph in 2010.

The flamboyant cricketer is expected to lead the team in the World Cup, but has Misbah-ul-Haq breathing down his neck after impressive show as captain, first in the UAE against South Africa and here in New Zealand.

Misbah has been named as Afridis deputy for the six-match series here. However, Afridi does not seem to be much worried about the captaincy and is trying his best to keep his focus on winning the ODI series against Kiwis.

Pakistan has a very well balanced ODI team and the players have the potential to upset any team in the world.

Apart from Afridi, match-winners like Shoaib Akhtar, Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal will be part of team in first match and can be a handful for any side when on song.

The visitors have a very strong bowling line-up too with Shoaib, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal and A! fridi in the ranks.

They have a good back-up bowler in Mohammad Hafeez who has done well in limited-overs cricket recently.

Middle-order is also looking solid with experienced Younis Khan and Misbah sharing the places with dashing Umar Akmal.

On the other hand, Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori will also be under a lot of pressure to excel in the series after consecutive losses against Bangladesh and India in the ODI series last year.

Vettori has already stepped-down as Test captain after losing the series against Pakistan and intends to give up the limited-overs leadership role after the World Cup.

The Kiwis will heavily rely on its all-rounders to perform against Pakistan. They have some quality all-round cricketers in their team like Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, James Franklin and Vettori who have impressive one-day records to boast about.

The team will also be hoping that key batsmen like Ross Taylor, Jesse Ryder, Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill fire against Pakistan.

However, New Zealand is not as strong as Pakistan in the bowling department. They dont have a very lethal attack which has been their weak point in the recent defeats.

The Black Caps are also mindful of their worst ever ODI campaign since they have now lost 11 matches on the trot and has not won a single match since August 2010.


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