Haris Rauf, right-arm fast, comes into the attack

Shaheen Afridi to Finn Allen, 1 run, on a length around middle and leg, seams into the batter, Allen heaves it across the line, gets a single through the on-side

Shaheen Afridi to Conway, 1 run, short of a length on middle and leg, nudged to square leg for a single

Shaheen Afridi to Conway, no run, that's a peach of a delivery by Afridi. Pitched up around off and the ball shapes away sharply to beat Conway on the outside edge

Shaheen Afridi to Finn Allen, 1 run, yorker length delivery by Afridi, swings into Allen who digs it towards mid-wicket and takes a single. A direct-hit at the bowler's end and Allen was in trouble

Shaheen Afridi to Finn Allen, no run

Shaheen Afridi to Finn Allen, no run, full and wide outside off, Allen goes for a flashy drive, connects thin air though

Finn Allen and Conway are at the crease. Finn Allen is on strike. Shaheen Afridi will open the attack

The players are out in the middle and we are ready for live action..

Teams:

New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Devon Conway(w), Kane Williamson(c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears

Pakistan (Playing XI): Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan(w), Aamer Jamal, Shaheen Afridi(c), Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf

Pakistan have won the toss and have opted to field

18:00 local time: Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the second T20I of the series folks! Fifties by Williamson and Mitchell and the cameos by others propelled the Kiwis to a massive 220+ total at Auckland, while Southee’s four-wicket haul choked Pakistan during the run chase. There were a few positives for Pakistan as Abbas Afridi looked impressive on his debut, while Saim Ayub gave the visitors a brisk start in the second innings. Pakistan will need a much better effort to level the series today though. Will they be able to do so? Or will New Zealand take the scoreline to 2-0? We shall find out soon, stay around for the toss and teams..

Preview

"One thing about this group is we know we back everyone. We know that T20 cricket can be a fickle game at times, so as long as guys keep taking positive options and keep trying to put their bowlers under pressure, then they have the backing from the whole group."

These were the words of Daryl Mitchell after New Zealand took a 1-0 lead in Auckland, but perhaps should be what rings in the other dressing room as well, for a squad with a host of promising newbies led by Shaheen Afridi. In his own words, there were a few positives to take away from the first game, but consistency and not dropping catches will be on the to-do list before they take the field in search of series parity.

The next four games against New Zealand, starting from Sunday [and the four T20Is on the tour of England in May] will mean so much more to Afridi's side in the build-up to the World Cup as they will have a big T20 void during the IPL season that comes as a prelude to the showpiece event in West Indies and USA in June.

New Zealand too have just seven T20Is - all at home - between now and the T20 World Cup, but can function with the comfort of already having a fairly settled squad where experience shines through - like it did in the series opener when Tim Southee bagged four after Mitchell and Kane Williamson set up the big total.

When: New Zealand vs Pakistan, 2nd T20I, January 14, 2024, 7:10 PM local time

Where: Seddon Park, Hamilton

What to expect: More runs. New Zealand have hit three of the five 200-plus totals in T20Is at this venue. Pakistan have their work cut out in their quest for a leveller as the hosts have only been beaten twice in 12 games in Hamilton since 2008.

Team News

New Zealand

Devon Conway (0 off 1) and Matt Henry (0 for 29 in 3 overs) made uneventful returns to the side, but will go again when New Zealand look to double their lead on Sunday. Mitchell Santner missed out due to COVID and New Zealand should go in unchanged for this fixture before Will Young - who has replaced Josh Clarkson in the squad for the third match - gives Kane Williamson a one-match break.

Probable XI: Devon Conway (wk), Finn Allen, Kane Williamson (C), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Ben Sears

Pakistan

The inexperienced pair of Aamer Jamal and Usama Mir conceded 106 runs in eight overs combined in the opening fixture. Jamal has been Pakistan's most recent find in Tests and could be persisted with. As for leg-spinner Mir, he has Abrar Ahmed waiting in the wings.

Probable XI: Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, ftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan (wk), Shaheen Afridi (c), Aamer Jamal, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf

Squads:

Pakistan Squad: Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan(w), Shaheen Afridi(c), Aamer Jamal, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haseebullah Khan, Zaman Khan

New Zealand Squad: Finn Allen, Devon Conway(w), Kane Williamson(c), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Mitchell Santner