Pakistan vs New Zealand: Will rain mar the crucial World Cup match in Bangalore?

Pakistan and New Zealand will be facing each other in Bangalore ahead of the crucial do or die match between the two teams eyeing a spot in the semifinal round. After the recent New Zealand's defeat against South Africa, Pakistan are very much back in the race for a semifinal spot. They are at the sixth spot in the table with a net run-rate (NRR) of -0.024 after three wins in seven matches. New Zealand at the fourth spot with 8 points from 7 matches and have an NRR of 0.484.

M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore is known to support the batsmen. But the weather can play a spoilsport. According to Accuweather, Saturday may see a "mostly cloudy sky with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm in the afternoon". The precipitation is about 68 per cent while there is almost a 30 per cent chance of thunderstorms and rain. New Zealand and Pakistan will meet in match no. 35 of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup on Saturday. The match will start at 10.30 AM.

The hourly forecasted weather for Bengaluru shows that the first half of the game may see a smooth run, but the second half of the match can be disrupted by rains and thunderstorms. Rain can take place in the late afternoon or early evening.

Semifinal qualification math

If Pakistan win Saturday's match against New Zealand, they will be one of contenders for the fourth spot in semifinal round. They will need to beat defending champions England in their final league game. If they lose, they will be out of the tournament.

New Zealand vs Pakistan: Record 

Both the teams have played a total of 115 matches in the ODI format. Pakistan have won 60 matches while New Zealand have 51 matches. Three matches ended with no result.

Total matches played: 115

Won by New Zealand: 51

Won by Pakistan: 60

Matches ended with no result: 3

New Zealand playing XI
Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult.

Pakistan playing XI
Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf.

Also watch: World Cup 2023 matches today: New Zealand vs Pakistan and England vs Australia, NZ vs PAK and ENG vs AUS Key Players, Kane Williamson injury update, Live streaming details; IND vs SA match on Sunday

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