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Pakistan, the losing finalists by a whisker in the first edition in 2007, won the title in 2009 and looked on course to make the final for the third consecutive time in 2010, before Mike Hussey's assault against Saeed Ajmal washed away their hopes.
Pakistan have the talent to go deep in the tournament, but winning it will be difficult unless captain M Hafeez can inspire his tired-looking side to perform up to their potential.
What makes Pakistan so special, however, is that any one of Afridi, Nazir, Razzaq, Malik, Arafat or Akmal brothers can single-handedly turn the tables on opponents with their abilities.
Pakistan should have to maintain consistency if they want to win the match and remain in the contention. If anybody is searching for mini-duels within the war, Brendon McCullum vs Saeed Ajmal will be a mouth-watering one.
Can Saeed Ajmal deliver for Pakistan alone to help his team remain in contention and if he did so it will be his great achievement for Pakistan. The world No 1 bowler in ODIs and T20s is in immense form and if he bowled according to his reputation, there is no reason that Pakistan could move to the knock-out stage. If Pakistan loses against the Kiwis, they will have to beat Bangladesh to remain in the contention.
Pakistan is so unpredictable side that if they swing wildly from being brilliant and unstoppable one day, to being utterly shambolic the next day. In spite of the inconsistent nature of their cricket, one can almost always count on a Pakistan side to be brimming with bowling talent.
If Pakistan vanquish their self-doubts and put mind over matter they can go all the way to the final. As always, Pakistan are blessed with a fountain of talent and a varied bowling attack.
For the first time in a long while Pakistan's fast bowling looks below par for a major tournament. With promising left-arm pacer Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz being left out, the pressure will be on Umar Gul to live up to his reputation as one of the best fast-bowlers in T20 cricket.
In Saeed Ajmal, Pakistan have the world's best spinner in any format of the game while Hafeez and Shahid Afridi have proved their mettle in this format. When on song Afridi is devastating with both bat and ball as he is the highest wicket-taker in the history of the World Twenty20 while no other batsman has hit more sixes than Afridi in the international cricket. Afridi is passing through a bad patch of his cricketing career and struggling to regain his form to deliver for Pakistan. He also failed to impress with his bowling due to lack of practice and struggling to regain bowling rhythm quickly to hold some terror for opposing teams.
Umar Akmal once hailed as a future batting great, but he in danger of ending up like so many before him, as a flash in the pan. And let's not forget Kamran Akmal, the butterfingered wicket-keeper who costs Pakistan more games with his dropped catches than wins with his undeniably attractive batting. When Pakistan's stars are switched on, buzzing and feeding off each other, they are a force to behold. There's nothing quite as stirring as a Pakistan side that, after looking like its down for the count, gets the wind back in its sails. They can blow away the strongest teams in a moment and yet it can all fall apart in a manic minute too.
For New Zealand Brendon McCullum, best batsman, the first player to register two centuries in the shortest format will be engine room of the New Zealand side. Martin Guptill needs to work on the area of converting starts into impact knocks. Ross Taylor is a pure match-winner with strike rate of 143 to his credit. Kane Williamson lends solidity and stability to the line up. In case the top order fumbles, Jacob Oram and Rob Nicol can biff telling blows lower down the order while Daniel Vettori's useful batting cannot be ignored.
New Zealand, ever the underdogs in high-profile tournaments, have the reputation to slay giant teams and upset their apple-cart. The World's leading T20 batsman, Brendon 'brutal' McCullum set up a resplendent display versus Bangladesh on Friday night, cracking a record breaking 58-ball 123 provided a rip-roaring start to New Zealand's World T20 campaign.
Pakistan must go with clear strategy in the match if the bat first then they have to put around 200 runs on board to defend the total and if they bat second then they should go with comprehensive plan to achieve the victory target.
