Revenge will be in the back of the mind of every Pakistan cricketer when they face New Zealand in their second match of the ICC T20 World Cup in Sharjah on Tuesday.

3 teams were on Pakistan’s target in this tournament – India, New Zealand and England. The Men in Green have already dealt with the first challenge by dishing out a thumping 10-wicket defeat on India and have the Black Caps in their sights next.

Babar Azam’s side signalled their intent in the opening game and made history in Dubai by registering their maiden World Cup-win over arch-rivals India. They now face the same team which had backed out of the Pakistan tour in September citing security concerns.

That controversy left Pakistan cricket red-faced and even influenced England into withdrawing from their subsequent tour of the country.

The unfortunate episodes severely hampered Pakistan’s preparations, something which they won’t forget very easily and that might prompt Babar’s team to deliver the same medicine to Kane Williamson’s New Zealand which they did to India two nights ago.

“We have not just come here to win against India, we have come here to win the World Cup, always remember that,” Babar said after the match against India.

Kane Williamson expects ‘right spirit’ vs Pakistan

New Zealand skipper Williamson on the other hand, expects the “right spirit” to prevail when the teams clash on Tuesday.

“I know the team that were there were very much looking forward to the occasion and playing cricket over in Pakistan, and it was a real shame that it wasn’t able to go ahead.

“But there are also a lot of good relations within the two teams. Over the years they’ve played a lot against each other, and a number of players have played with each other as well.

“I’m sure it’ll be played in the right spirit, but no doubt Pakistan will be well supported, as they always are here in the UAE,” Williamson said on Monday.

New Zealand have not had the best of build-ups to their campaign, having lost to Australia and England in the warm-ups. One of their main concerns is the fitness of skipper Kane Williamson, who is battling with elbow pain for a while now and head coach Gary Stead said the injury had flared up a bit in the game against Australia.

Williamson did not bat against England. The Black Caps have a world-class bowing attack but their batters need to step up. Despite the many concerns, they have a consistent record in ICC events and one can’t rule them out for a place in the final four.

As the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh match suggested, the Sharjah pitch is changing its slow and low nature which was seen in the IPL and one can expect a good batting surface for game on Tuesday evening. (With PTI inputs)