
Mohammad Arslan Abbas, the son of former Pakistani cricketer Azhar Abbas, is set to make his debut for New Zealand in the Kiwis' upcoming match against Pakistan. Arslan, a first-class cricketer, has been selected for the New Zealand squad based on his domestic performance.
Azhar Abbas, who played 45 first-class matches, moved to New Zealand with his family, where he continued his cricketing career, playing for Auckland and Wellington. He is now the assistant coach for the Firebirds.
Arslan Abbas, who can bat in the middle order and bowl, has been chosen for his versatility. New Zealand’s squad will miss senior players like Mitchell Santner, Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, and Glenn Phillips due to their commitments to the IPL in India.
With these senior players absent, new players will have the opportunity to shine during the one-day series against Pakistan.
Earlier, New Zealand's fast bowlers crushed Pakistan in swinging conditions and set up a massive 115-run win to help the home side clinch the series 3-1 with a match to spare at the Bay Oval on Sunday.
The Men in Green were bowled out for just 105 chasing a mammoth 221-run target under lights. The last dead-rubber to be played on Wednesday at the Sky Stadium in Wellington.
Jacob Duffy made early inroads, picking up three wickets inside the powerplay to dent Pakistan and they never recovered from the top-order collapse. Pakistan's chase never took off with New Zealand troubling them with swing and seam on offer.
Unlike the game in Auckland, Pakistan couldn't take advantage of the dew factor. The chase began with Will O'Rourke, playing his first match of the series, removing Mohammed Haris with an excellent delivery, Duffy then dismissed Hasan Nawaz and captain Salman Agha in the second over to dent the visitors.
Zakary Foulkes also struck instantly, as he cleaned up Shadab Khan in his first ball with an inswinger. Eventually, Pakistan lost eight wickets for 56 runs.
The game was all but over at the halfway stage of the chase even though the No.7 Abdul Samad fought a lone battle with his 30-ball 44.
Duffy came back for his final over and added one more wicket to his tally to end with 4 for 20 while Foulkes scalped three overall.
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