After a bit of "was it really needed" T20 fun, Pakistan and New Zealand will get to the cricket that the two teams need – one-day internationals – starting with the 1st ODI in Dubai on Monday.
The short two-match T20 series was drawn, like the Test series, but the really important one right now, considering the World Cup is just two months away, is the ODI series – five matches for New Zealand and Pakistan to iron out those chinks, or at least begin to.
"It is the last chance for us to just look into the things, how we are going into the World Cup," Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq said. "So everybody will be focussed and everybody just wants to put up a good show. I always believe that confidence is the main thing."
Pakistan have recalled Younis Khan back to the lineup, and Misbah is expecting not just runs from the experienced batsman, but plenty of leadership as well.
"I think he has seen enough, he is experienced enough to handle those sort of conditions," Misbah added. "It is always important because these kind of players, they are experienced, they know the situations of the game, they can handle those situations and whenever these sort of players are in, you can just say that 'OK they are going to win the game for you.'
"He is going help other youngsters on how to just go about the game. So, it's really important for us."
New Zealand will be one of the hosts, of course, of the World Cup, and the pitches at the WC will be nothing like the ones Down Under, but victories give you momentum, and momentum is a wonderful thing to have heading into a big tournament.
Also, with a few young faces in the lineup, stand-in captain Kane Williamson believes it is a good platform for those players to showcase their talent and put their hands up to be considered for the final World Cup squad.
"I think it's very important that we've got some young players and they're getting cricket," said Williamson. "Heading into a World Cup, more often than not, you don't get the team exactly how you want it.
"You get an injury or two and various other things can happen, so it is important that we have a variety of people or personnel playing at the highest level so when it comes to World Cup time guys have had some experiences under that sort of pressure.
"It's not so much an audition, it's very much about workloads as well. There's so much cricket before the World Cup so we're very conscious of that but we also want to put out our strongest side at the time."
Where to Watch Live
The first match is scheduled for a 3 pm local time (4.30 pm IST, 4 pm PST, 11 am GMT) start with live coverage in India on Ten Cricket and Ten HD. Ten Sports and PTV Sports will telecast the match live in Pakistan.
The 1st ODI can be watched via live streaming in India on Ten Sports Live, while Pakistan viewers can catch the action on the same website or PTV Sports Live.
Watch the game in the USA on Willow TV, while viewers can also live stream the action on Willow TV Online. Audience in Africa can catch all the action on SuperSport or SuperSport online, while viewers in the Middle East can watch the match live on Ten Cricket UAE.
