Pakistan face New Zealand in first T20 today

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Pakistan face New Zealand in first T20 today

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12 November,2009 10:14 am

After a riveting end to the ODI series, which New Zealand won 2-1, the focus turns to the Twenty20s, which Pakistan will feel they are better placed to trump. They will be disappointed by a fifth consecutive ODI series defeat, especially one they were well poised to win, but the Twenty20 games in Dubai present an opportunity to redress that.Imran Nazir, Fawad Alam and Sohail Tanvir have joined the squad for the Twenty20 series. Mohammad Yousuf, who stands in for Younis Khan as captain for the Test series, sits out along with Salman Butt and Wahab Riaz. New Zealand will be without Kyle Mills and James Franklin, nursing shoulder and back injuries respectively. Jacob Oram is also unavailable - he's flown back home to attend the birth of his child. With only 12 players to choose from, they are likely to draft in Ian Butler and Nathan McCullum.Both the Twenty20 games will begin at 9pm PST on November 12 and 13.