3 reasons why Pakistan lost v New Zealand in CT25: Hosting their first major ICC tournament since 1996, Pakistan suffered a shambolic and embarrassing defeat in the opening game of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 against New Zealand in Karachi.
After electing to bowl first, Pakistani bowlers kept things tight as New Zealand lost three wickets for 73 runs. After that, though, Will Young and Tom Latham recorded a huge partnership of 118 runs off 126 balls. Both batters went on to score their respective centuries before Glenn Phillips gave New Zealand a fiery finish.
In the chase, Pakistan just couldn’t get going as their batsmen were stuck on the Karachi pitch that slowed down considerably and offered turn as well.
PAK vs NZ: 3 reasons why Pakistan lost v New Zealand in CT25
Ordinary bowling in death overs
Glenn Phillips and Tom Latham forged a partnership of 125 runs off 74 balls. Phillips smashed 61 runs off only 39 balls, whacking three fours and four sixes in his sizzling knock.
Pakistani bowlers bowled ordinarily in the death overs. In the last 48 balls, Pakistan conceded 95 runs! That gave New Zealand the momentum, and they carried it in their bowling as well.
Horrendous display from the top three
The Pakistani top three batsmen produced a horrific display in the first powerplay. Saud Shakeel scored 6 runs off 19 balls, Mohammad Rizwan scored 3 runs off 14 balls, and Babar Azam scored 12 runs off 27 balls in the first powerplay as Pakistan managed only 22 runs in 10 overs. That is a disastrous batting show, especially when the target is 321 runs.
Electing to bowl first
While their bowling and batting will be under criticism, the decision to bowl first by Rizwan should also be scrutinized. Only five days ago both these teams had met in Karachi for the final of the tri-series.
In that tri-series final, the pitch was even more difficult for the batters than the one in the Champions Trophy. The surface in the tri-series final slowed down more and more as the game progressed and offered, just as it did tonight. New Zealand had scraped a hard-fought win five days ago, chasing down 243 while losing five wickets and with only five overs to spare.
Despite knowing the nature of the pitch that it would get challenging to bat on later in the evening with the ball holding into the surface and getting uneven bounce, Rizwan decided to bowl first.
Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for Live Updates – Facebook & Instagram.
