In the Champions Trophy 2025 curtain-raiser, New Zealand (NZ), often known as the Dark Horses, defeated Pistakan (PAK) handily, winning by 60 runs at the National Stadium in Karachi.
After Devon Conway and Kane Williamson were fired in quick succession, the tourists’ promising start was briefly derailed. However, New Zealand reached 320/5 in their quota thanks to a couple of tons from Will Young and Tom Latham as well as a fast-paced 61 from Glenn Phillps. The most economical bowler, Abrar Ahmed, finished with stats of 1/47.
In response, Pakistan’s batting began the powerplay phase far too slowly. They lost two wickets and only managed to score 22 runs. They fell well behind in the game as a result. Salman Agha’s quick 42 and Babar Azam’s half-century were insufficient. With a top score of 69, Khushdil Shah had the Kiwi fielders guessing. He achieved his highest ODI score of 69 in his career. But it wasn’t intended for the home team.
Talking Points from Champions Trophy 2025 Match 1:
1. Will Young’s brilliant ton restores ODI form
As the competition drew near, Young was going through a slump. But with a thrilling ton that included 12 fours and a maximum, he changed his luck. In international settings, this was his first ODI century.
2. Pakistan’s problems with death bowling persist
The Pakistani team lost the plan in the last 10 overs of the innings, even though they had effectively contained the Black Caps by the 40-over mark. Apart from their exceptional power striking, the pacers missed their distances far too frequently to be hammered for 113 runs.
3. Underappreciated brilliance files by Michael Bracewell
With the ball, the off-spinning all-rounder made another frugal move. As he has been doing for the past several games, Bracewell did a commendable job of limiting the batters. In the end, he gave up just 38 runs in his allotted 10-overs.
Who Said What?
Losing skipper, Mohammed Rizwan
They made a good target, we didn’t expect that. We were looking at something around 260. We tried our best and used all tactics, but they played well and put up a good target. We see the pitch conditions, earlier the pitch wasn’t easy to bat but when Will Young and Tom Latham got together batted it got easier. At the end, we made the same mistake like we did in Lahore and they made a good target. We didn’t get a good start with the bat. (On the extent of injury to Fakhar Zaman) Not sure yet, he hasn’t got his result yet. He is in some pain. We lost the momentum twice – once while bowling in the death and then while batting in the powerplay. It is disappointing for us, we played it like a normal match. The match is gone now and hopefully we can do better in the rest.
Winning skipper, Mitchell Santner
Pleased with the way we went about it. Pakistan bowled well, so in the middle stage when Tom Latham and Young could build a partnership that was great, they scored a few boundaries as well. And then GP came out and smashed it around. We were targetting around 260, but glad we could get more in the death overs. After the score we got, we were brilliant in the first 10 overs, and then we could put the squeeze in, keep that run rate pressure on them and get wickets. (On the Phillips catch) We kind of expect that from him now, and getting Rizwan out was a massive wicket. (On the importance of the previous tri-series) Understanding the conditions and the opposition was crucial. You have to hit a slightly shorter length out here and for spinners, it is about bowling slower. This win shows if we can do the hard yards with the bat, then we can carry on with the ball and put the squeeze on the opposition.
Player of the Match, Tom Latham
Yeah, certainly helps when you played on a surface before. Felt nice to contribute, Will Young played exceptionally and then to get to 320 was just brilliant. When I came in, it was about building a partnership. We could do that and then improve the run rate, and then GP came in and played an exceptional hand once again. Gave us the momentum to get through to the second innings. At the back end, you want to get as many as you can. Glad we could today. There was a lack of dew today so the ball turned quite a bit, it was better to bowl second with conditions like that.
India
