New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bat against Pakistan in their World Cup tie at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on Wednesday. The toss was delayed due to rain.

New Zealand were 18 for 1 after 4 overs. Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir sent Martin Guptill (5) back to the hut when the scorecard read 5 runs.

New Zealand are playing the same XI that won them the 5-run thriller against the West Indies. Pakistan too are unchanged. It is for the first time in their six games that Pakistan are playing the same XI in two successive games.

“We are going to have a bat. Very cold conditions and it’s a used pitch. There might be a bit of swing early on and we are gonna try and negotiate that early. We are going with the same team. We are going with horses-for-courses type of mentality. There was some consideration (about team changes) with this being played on a used surface, but we have gone with the same team. Pakistan are a very strong side and for us it’s about building on the performances and keep winning. Keep trying to do your job and fulfil the role given today. A great atmosphere (with a lot of fans) and we are looking forward to it. Every game throughout the tournament has a similar feeling riding on it and hopefully have a good game,” said Williamson after winning the toss.

Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed said: “We wanted to bat first and we are not worried about the conditions as that is not in our hand. Good to see him (Amir) back in form and others also bowled really well especially in the last game. Catching is a concern and hopefully we will do well as a fielding unit today. Pakistan can do anything and we are taking it game by game, hopefully we will do well. No team changes.”

New Zealand have 11 points from 6 matches and are unbeaten in the tournament so far. They are at the 2nd spot in the points table. Pakistan, on the other hand, have 5 points from 6 matches and are at the 7th spot in the points table.

Here are the playing XIs of the teams:

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (captain), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wicketkeeper), James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper/captain), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi