New Zealand defeated Pakistan at the National Stadium in Karachi in the opening game of the Champions Trophy 2025. Tom Latham and Will Young scored a century each for the visitors while only two of the top six Pakistan batters batted at a strike rate over 100.
New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 60 runs in the opening game of the Champions Trophy 2025. The defending champions suffered back-to-back defeats to New Zealand in the tri-nation series and the trend continued in the marquee tournament. With the defeat, the Men in Green put them in a difficult spot as the games against India and Bangladesh have now turned out to be must-win for them.
Batting first, New Zealand lost three quick wickets of Devon Conway, Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell. They were reduced to 73/3 at one stage. That’s when Will Young and Tom Latham took over the charge and stitched a vital partnership of 118 runs that changed the course of the game. Young smashed a cracking century, before departing for 107 runs. Latham, on the other hand, played a mature knock and made unbeaten 118 runs off 104 deliveries.
It was only the fifth occasion in the Champions Trophy when two batters of a particular team registered a century. Young and Latham were also the first New Zealand duo to achieve the feat. Towards the fag end of the innings, Glenn Phillips smashed 61 runs off 39 deliveries, which helped the Kiwis cross the 300-run mark as they posted 320 runs in the first innings.
Saud Shakeel and Babar Azam opened the second innings for Pakistan. Fakhar Zaman, who complained of a back injury during the first innings, decided to bat at number four. In the meantime, Shakeel and Babar had a terrible outing as they struggled heavily against the New Zealand pacers. The Test captain departed for six runs off 19 deliveries while Babar managed to drag his innings. Mohammad Rizwan, who batted at number three, made 3 off 14 balls as the hosts registered 22/2 in the powerplay.
Since 2024, it was the joint-lowest total by a team in ODI cricket. In the meantime, Babar’s struggle continued as he eventually made 64 runs off 90 balls. Agha Salman, and Khusdil Shah showed some character, scoring 42 and 69 runs respectively but that wasn’t enough. Interestingly, they were the only batters in the top six to have batted at a strike rate over 100.
Pakistan will next challenge India on February 23 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, while New Zealand will play Bangladesh on February 24 in Rawalpindi.
