Intense battle is set to unfold with Pakistan gearing up to face New Zealand in the third T20I match of the five-match series on Wednesday (January 17) at University Oval. With the series currently being led by New Zealand 2-0, the upcoming encounter is going to be a riveting showdown as Pakistan vie to get back into the series.

New Zealand's performance in the first two T20Is has been nothing short of a gem, Displaying a combination of clinical batting and disciplined bowling, they secured convincing victories in the opening encounters. The home team's ability to adapt to different game situations and capitalize on key moments has been a hallmark of their success in the series. However, they have suffered a major blow ahead of the third game after their skipper Kane Williamson was ruled out of the remainder of the series due to injury. 

New Zealand have been on top of the game with their players shining brightly for them throughout the last two games. The outstanding batting from Kane Williamson, Finn Allen and Daryl Mitchell helped New Zealand pin down Pakistan. Their bowling line up, comprising of veteran Tim Southee along with Adam Milne and Ish Sodhi have given hard times to Pakistan. 

Pakistan, on the other hand, find themselves in a precarious situation, with back-to-back defeats. Pakistan, under the leadership of new skipper Shaheen Afridi would look forward to bouncing back. Former skipper Babar Azam remain the leading scorer for the team with his back-to-back half-centuries in the past games. Pakistan’s bowling has been out of touch that they would need to make perfection in to give a tough fight to New Zealand. 

New Zealand Probable XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Tim Seifert (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (c), Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears.

Pakistan Probable XI: Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi (c), Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf