The Pakistan and New Zealand cricket authority has finalized the calendar for the upcoming 5 ODI games series in April 2023. The tournament is aimed to compensate for the canceled series in September 2021 due to some security issues. This series will not be part of the Super League. All five One Day Internationals of the Pakistan vs New Zealand series 2023 will be held in Lahore and Rawalpindi. The Pak vs NZ ODI series 2023 commenced with the 1st ODI at Rawalpindi Stadium on 27 April, then the same stadium will host the 2nd ODI on 29 April 2023. Afterward, both teams will move to the Karachi Stadium for the rest of the 3 ODI games which will be held on 3 May, 5 May, and 7 May 2023.
Most probably, the Pakistan team will be led by Babar Azam and Kane Williamson will take command of the Black Caps. As of September 2023, Pakistan is currently in the 4th position whereas New Zealand is sitting in the 2nd position in the ICC ODI team ranking. So, there is no big gap between them, and Pakistan can give strong competition as they will get the benefit of their home ground.
In terms of head-to-head in ODI, Pakistan has got the upper hand with the most wins against New Zealand. Both squads have met on the ground on 107 occasions where Pakistan won 55 times whereas New Zealand got the victory on 48 occasions, so these numbers show that Pakistan has a higher winning percentage against New Zealand and their chances of winning the series will be more.
On February 11th, 1973, in Christchurch, they performed their inaugural ODI cricket match. Pakistan maintained a strong lead until 2003, particularly in the 1990s and the early 2000s. However, following 2004, New Zealand absolutely outclassed this competition in one-day international cricket, capturing 24 games to Pakistan's 9 triumphs.
Pakistan's top two batters account for the majority of their runs, but a conservative effort has typically stopped the team from taking advantage of powerplay constraints. The weak middle order's inability to capitalize on the sturdy foundation set by the upper-order hitters has only served to exacerbate their issues. So, in order to face a strong competitor like New Zealand, Pakistan needs to work in this field. It will be very exciting for the fans of both nations to watch them against each other in the upcoming Pakistan vs New Zealand ODI series 2023 in April.