Win Projections to be updated soon
On February 14, the National Stadium in Karachi hosted the conclusion of the Tri-Nation series between South Africa, New Zealand, and Pakistan. New Zealand and Pakistan fought it out for the trophy, and in the final struggle, the latter won. Pakistan lost by five wickets despite entering as the favourites.
All three teams had a stake in the series. A victory in the series might have raised spirits before the pivotal Champions Trophy 2025. Former Pakistani cricketer Ahmed Shehzad blasted captain Muhammad Rizwan for his poor decision at the toss following the home team’s defeat.
The choice to bat first was mind-blowing since, as we saw in the last game, the pitch improves for batting at night because the spinners can’t get the ball to grip the surface. Nevertheless, the Pakistani squad chose to bat first. India Today cited Shehzad as saying, “It was a stupid decision, they had no clue.”
“You are making a lot of blunders in matches and making juvenile judgements in a final. Only when the opposition plays poorly or doesn’t have their best players on the pitch do you have a chance to win’, he continued.
We were squeezed by bowlers from New Zealand: Mohammad Rizwan
In anticipation of a dry surface that would support batting, Rizwan won the toss. However, especially in the middle overs, the Pakistani batsmen struggled and lost wickets in large quantities.
We believed the pitch would be difficult in the second half, so we decided to bat first. However, we were squeezed by their bowlers. We wanted to hit 280, but they regained it. We fell short by fifteen runs. Their bowling was excellent. Agha and I were attempting to construct the stand. We attempted to do so, but they refused to give us the balls. Instead of aiming for 300, we stuck to 280. My wicket was important. [Fielding] We must implement the change. We are deficient in this particular department. [Abrar] He’s made great progress. The others must also get better. [CT’25] We also wanted to be ready for the 19th. That’s why we also wanted to bat first,” Rizwan explained.
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