New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has recovered from illness and should be in their XI for Saturday’s T20 World Cup Super Eights game against Pakistan, Mark Chapman has confirmed. Lockie Ferguson, however, remains more “wait and see”. The fast bowler arrives in Colombo only on Friday night, after going back home for the birth of his first child.

After playing all their group-stage games in India, New Zealand have now moved to Sri Lanka, where Chapman felt batting would be as much about running hard as it would be about hitting sixes.

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“I think here especially, given the slower nature of the pitch along with the slightly bigger boundaries as well, you have to certainly change your game plan,” he said. “For me personally, batting in the middle I could be in the powerplay or in with very few overs to go. So specifically against the spinners it’s probably [about] looking at different options around whether you employ a sweep shot more or a reverse sweep. Whereas in India, where it doesn’t spin as much, you can look to target the straight boundaries a little bit more.

“And obviously there’s big pockets here too, so it’s not all about sixes on this ground. Lots of twos, lots of fours – and running hard between the wickets is really important as well, particularly if it’s not a very high score.”

New Zealand play all three of their Super Eights games at one venue, the R Premadasa Stadium. In a tournament often defined by the fatigue of constant travel, Chapman views this stability as a tactical win.

“When you play in these tournaments, one of the challenges is hopping from venue to venue and adapting,” Chapman said. “Playing all three games here, we’ll learn each game as we go.”

Mark Chapman wasn’t hindered by the fall of wickets Associated Press

Pakistan’s spin attack remains their greatest weapon, specifically the mystery of Usman Tariq.

“He has a pretty unique action with the way that he stops at the crease, so that’s something to factor in,” Chapman said.

While New Zealand are yet to face Tariq, they have played Pakistan numerous times in the recent past – as many as 15 T20Is since the start of 2024, winning 10 and losing just four.

“Pakistan is one of the teams we’ve played probably the most frequently over the last few years,” Chapman said. “We’re well aware of what they’re going to bring.”

One of New Zealand’s potential issues coming into the Super Eights could be their bowling. They conceded 170-plus totals to all of their group-stage oppositions including Associates Canada and UAE, and let South Africa chase down 176 with 17 balls to spare. Chapman felt this was an outcome of batting-friendly pitches in Chennai and Ahmedabad.

“The margins have been pretty small [in India],” he said. “Here, it’s slightly different with the slower nature of the pitches. The bowlers will hopefully get a chance to really show off their skills.”