Finally, the much-awaited Champions Trophy took place in Pakistan, for which the PCB has almost announced a full-fledged war against their neighbour cricket board. However, the Pakistan cricket team failed to show that fighting spirit on the field and lost their opening game against New Zealand in a one-sided manner.
After 1996, the first global event took place in Pakistan, which began with the toss between Pakistan and New Zealand in the National Stadium of Karachi. The hosts won the toss and decided to field first on a chilly afternoon in Karachi.
Invited to bat first, Devon Conway and Will Young come to open the innings for the Kiwi team. The pair gave a cautious start to New Zealand’s inning with 39 runs in 7.2 before the dismissal of Devon Conway on the next delivery. In the first ball of the next over, Kane Williamson also fell to a beautiful outswing delivery of Naseem Shah when the total was just 40 runs.
Then came Daryl Mitchell, who tried to steady the ship with Will Young, but he also got out at a crucial time when the team’s score was 73/2 in 16.1 overs. But then Tom Latham came to the crease to join hands with Young in his endeavour to propel New Zealand to a winning total.
Both Young and Lathem struck centuries and formed a 118-run partnership for the 4th wicket. The partnership came to an end when Young was caught by substitute Faheem on the delivery of Naseem Shah on the second ball of the 38th over when New Zealand’s total was 191.
After the dismissal of Will Young, New Zealand came on to slaughter Pakistan’s bowling attack, especially Glenn Phillips, who played a destructive inning of 61 off 39 balls. Phillips was the last batter to dismiss in the Kiwi inning and when he went back to the Pavilion New Zealand had already crossed the winning total.
Powered by Will Young’s 107 off 113, Tom Lathem’s 118 off 104, and Glenn Phillips’s 61 off 39, New Zealand posted a total of 320/5 in 50 overs. Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf took two wickets each while Abrar got just one wicket.
To win the first match of their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign, Pakistan is required to chase the seventh-highest total of their ODI history ever, as they have chased a target of more than 320 just six times in ODIs.
And a tough assignment became more difficult when Pakistan lost their veteran and striking opener, Fakhar Zaman, due to back strain; however, he came to bat in this match, but after powerplay overs, where the left-handed batter is not as effective as he usually is in the powerplay overs.
For Pakistan, makeshift openers Saud Shakeel and Babar Azam started the inning and gave a deplorable start with just 8 runs in 3.4 overs for the partnership of the first wicket. At the end of the powerplay, Pakistan’s score was 22/2, and Saud Shakeel and skipper Rizwan were in the pavilion. Then for the next 10.5 overs, Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman batted and formed a 47-run partnership, which came to an end when Zaman was dismissed for 24 runs.
After Zaman, Salman Agha came to bat and showed some positive intent with a quickfire inning of 42 off 28 balls, but at the team’s total of 127, he was dismissed by Nathan Smith. From there, Pakistan didn’t recover and chased the momentum throughout the match.
It was some late fireworks from Khushdil Shah that helped Pakistan to remain relevant in the game. Khushdil was the top scorer for Pakistan with 69 off 49 balls. In the 47.2 overs, Pakistan was dismissed on a total of 260, and New Zealand won the match by 60 runs. Tom Latham was named player of the match for his century.
With this defeat, Pakistan’s chance of making it to the semifinals has become slightly low, and their next challenge is up against India on Feb 23 in Dubai. New Zealand has to play Bangladesh on the very next day in Rawalpindi.
Scorecard: Pakistan vs New Zealand, 1st Match, Group A, Karachi, Champions Trophy, Feb 19, 2025
New Zealand Innings
Tom Latham- 118 (104)
Will Young- 107 (113)
Glenn Phillips- 61 (39)
Naseem Shah- 2/63 (10 overs)
Haris Rauf- 2/83 (10 overs)
Abrar Ahmed- 1/47 (10 overs)
Pakistan Innings
Khushdil Shah- 69 (49)
Babar Azam- 64 (90)
Salman Agha- 42 (28)
Will O’Rourke- 3/47 (9 overs)
Mitchell Santner- 3/66 (10 overs)
Matt Henry- 2/25 (7.2 overs)
