New Zealand vs Pakistan Live Score Updates 1st T20I

The 2025 cricketing calendar is packed with exciting fixtures and with the much-awaited return of the ICC Champions Trophy now out of the way, we are back to a bilateral series that is going to be played between Champions Trophy hosts Pakistan and Champions Trophy runners-up New Zealand. It will be Pakistan traveling to New Zealand for a couple of white-ball series' that include 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs and the tour will commence at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch with the 1st T20I. Both sides finished the Champions Trophy with a bit of disappointment as the Kiwis suffered another heartbreak in the finals, whereas Pakistan failed to reach the semifinals even after being the defending champions and playing at home and a lot has been made of that performance which has enforced a lot of personnel changes atleats for the T20I part of this series. New Zealand will also be without a lot of big names and will be led by Michael Bracewell who did have a good Champions Trophy and there are a few names retained from that squad with the likes of Will O'Rourke and Kyle Jamieson leading the bowling attack. A couple of seasoned campaigners return to the fore in the form of all-rounder James Neesham and leg spinner Ish Sodhi. The Kiwis do have a good mix of youth and experience, and with the focus now shifting to the T20 World Cup of 2026 to be played in India, a lot of players in this squad of just 13 will be looking to impress and try to get more of a starting role in the team. Pakistan, on the other hand, have a new-look team but they have also retained the likes of Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi from the Champions Trophy along with leg spinner Abrar Ahmed and it will be Salman Agha who will lead the T20I side. Shadab Khan, a former mainstay of the national side, also returns for the T20I series and he will play deputy to Salman Agha as they look to forego the blemishes of the Champions Trophy and usher in a new dawn. Hard-hitting top-order batter Mohammad Haris also returns and Usman Khan keeps his place but that batting lineup does feature a lot of inexperienced players and the likes of Hasan Nawaz and Abdul Samad might even make their debuts in this series. Right then, the Kiwis will have the home advantage and will be the more confident side but with so many changes in the Pakistan squad, they might not have the pressure of that Champions Trophy disappointment and in the end, it might turn out to be a fascinating contest. Who do you think will come out on top in the opening encounter?