New Zealand win toss, opt to bat against Pakistan

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and opted to bat in the second test against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Monday.

Pakistan, who won the first test in Abu Dhabi by 248 runs, went in with a new left-handed opening pair after Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez failed to recover from injuries.

Shan Masood, with just two test caps, and Taufeeq Umar, who last played in July 2012, will open the batting while Ehsan Adil replaced paceman Imran Khan in the starting line-up for the hosts.

Adil, a right-arm paceman, played his only test against South Africa at Centurion in February last year.

The visitors, trailing 1-0 in the three test series, were unchanged from the last match.

Teams:

New Zealand: Tom Latham, Brendon McCullum (captain), Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Corey Anderson, James Neesham, BJ Watling, Tim Southee, Mark Craig, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult.

Pakistan: Shan Masood, Taufeeq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younus Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Ehsan Adil, Rahat Ali.