Auckland: New Zealand's stand-in captain Ross Taylor has won the toss and sent Pakistan in to bat in the first of the three Twenty20 cricket matches.
Taylor was named to lead the New Zealand team on Sunday in the absence of Daniel Vettori, who is resting a back injury. Wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum, who also has a sore back, will miss the first two matches of the series.
New Zealand named 18-year-old fast bowler Adam Milne and batsman Dean Brownlie to make their international debuts.
New Zealand: Ross Taylor (c), Dean Brownlie, Martin Guptill, Nathan McCullum, Peter McGlashan, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, James Franklin.
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (c), Abdul Razzaq, Ahmed Shehzad, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Younis Khan.
