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Tri-series - does this word ring a bell?
For those who have been avid watchers of the sport, they surely know how this thing works. Names such as the Celkon Trophy, Coca-Cola Cup, and Carlton Mid Triangular remind fans of the wonder and thrill the ODI format brings. Over the years, however, there has been a steep decline in how these competitions are arranged. From being viewed as once-in-two-year events, tri-series events have become a very, very rare occurrence among the big players in the game.
However, two nations have been a part of the last couple of such competitions that have been arranged, with both of them now going head-on in the opener of this short and sweet tournament. Pakistan and New Zealand are no strangers to this competition format. Before the T20 World Cup in 2022, the two teams alongside Bangladesh played a tri-series in New Zealand which was won by Pakistan. The tournament had earned a lot of plaudits which had Pakistan, the hosts of Champions Trophy 2025, planning for another series but in ODIs
For those who are relatively new to how Tri-Series works, here's a quick explainer - Each team will play each other once and will be ranked from one to three. The top two teams will be a part of the summit clash while the third team will watch the game or will be looking for preparations. In case teams are tied on points, the run rate will play a role in deciding who will play the finals. Pretty simple right?
Now that we are familiar with the concept, let's talk about the teams. First up, it will be the visitors, New Zealand, who come fresh off the back of a 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka earlier this year. In the last calendar year, they have played six ODI games, all of them against Sri Lanka. This will be the first time since the 2023 World Cup semi-final that they will be facing another opponent.
They come on Pakistani shores with a pretty formidable unit that will be playing both the Tri-Series as well as the Champions Trophy that follows. In what is a beautiful coincidence (or a planned one), the two teams will also be playing the opening contest of the Champions Trophy about 10 days from now. Their unit sees a new leader in Mitchell Santner, with their old guard and arguably best pacer Tim Southee hanging up his boots from the international game.
Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway form the top order for the visitors and will be tasked with doing the bulk of the scoring. They have a settled middle order as well, with Tom Latham, Mark Chapman and Glenn Phillips in the middle order while Lockie Ferguson, Will O'Rourke and Ben Sears form the bowling unit. All in all, they will be hoping that they can make sure that their opponents have a tough time facing them.
Coming to Pakistan, they are a formidable unit that will be looking to make sure that they are able to clinch a tri-series win while also aiming to defend their Champions Trophy as well. They had a few issues running in their coaching ranks, but they have put up some reasonably good performances in ODIs.
They have played nine ODI games in the last year or so, winning seven of them and ending up on the wrong side only twice. They were up against Australia and despite a win being snatched from their jaws from the opening game, they managed to beat them in back-to-back games and win the series. Similarly against Zimbabwe, when they lost the first game, but then won the remaining two games comprehensively. Then in South Africa, one of the three teams of the tri-series, they blanked them in all three games and returned victoriously.
Their recent success in ODIs can be attributed in part to the new skipper, Mohammad Rizwan and partly to their coach and his philosophy. However, Pakistan have two gaping holes to fix before they host the showpiece event. First is the hole at the top of the order left by Saim Ayub, with one of Saud Shakeel or Babar Azam to replace him. However, the second hole could deepen the first hole as Babar Azam's form is also quite questionable. The batter is on the hunt for big runs and hasn't scored a century in a while.
What is good signs for them is that their bowling unit is a well-rounded one and they can strike poles any day. In Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan have a pace quartet or triplet that is able to pose a threat to any batting unit in the world. Abrar Ahmad is the one spinner they possess while Salman Ali Agha and Faheem Ashraf are also very handy options in case Rizwan needs someone to roll an arm over and pick up a wicket.
The two teams faced off last in ODIs in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, with a Fakhar Zaman blitz powering Pakistan to 200/1 in 25 overs, which sealed the game for them thanks to the Duckworth Lewis Stern method. They now face again with Pakistan looking to make a winning start in a format where they have a decent run of form while New Zealand aim at doing them, albeit with teams not named Sri Lanka.
A crackerjack contest to kick start what will be a busy couple of weeks in ODI and International Cricket. Welcome back, Tri Series, with wide open arms!
New Zealand (Probable XI): Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Tom Latham (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Ben Sears.
Pakistan (Probable XI): Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk,c), Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmad