It is a difficult situation as we dont know where is the rest of batting line-up standing. The game is in Sharjah so it will be a high scoring game which is normally not so good for Pakistani batting. I dont think Hasan Ali is a major concern although I am not sure about Haris Rauf on Sharjah wicket and short boundaries.
I doubt it will be high-scoring.
The wicket between SL and BD was good because they needed runs on the board for a good audience.
I see Sharjah playing low-bounce tomorrow.
Tactics should change a bit:
Guptill and Conway to open, so Shaheen + Hafeez should be the opening bowlers. Conway isn't as good off the back foot against spin, so the goal would be to choke him for runs. Shaheen needs to attack Guptill the same way he did against Sharma; full and straight. Anything on the pads is easy money so an off-stump yorker should work.
Kane Williamson and the rest of NZ middle-order should be choked with spin. Shadab, Hafeez, Imad, and even Shoaib Malik should all be looking to dominate in this phase of the game. Williamson looked woeful against spin in the IPL, so the same situation should be created which forces him to play ungainly strokes.
Lower-middle order - for these guys, good pace bowling with constant change-ups should be enough to get us wickets and keep runs low.
If we bowl first, by choice or being forced to, we need to restrict NZ to 110-120 ideally on a slow, low-bounce wicket. 140-150 on a wicket like SLvsBD. Focused bowling, strict plans, and good fielding. Every run matters here.
If we bat first, we need to follow the same crescendo type of batting. Gather yourselves in the powerplay and take note of the pitch, assess the conditions, and know that you need those 20-30 extra runs. Identify a bowler to take apart, perhaps Boult or Southee. Ish Sodhi is a good spinner, don't expect that he will be easy to negotiate. They might rely on part-timers, so dispatch them for some runs.
Win the toss and bowl first again. The dew becomes challenging to negate.
