Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan conceded that his side was taken aback by New Zealand’s 320-run stand in their Champions Trophy 2025 opening game at the National Bank Stadium. Rizwan attributed poor death overs execution as a major reason for Pakistan’s 60-run loss.
Even after losing two early wickets, New Zealand’s batting order showed strength. Will Young (107) and Tom Latham (118*) held the innings together, while Glenn Phillips gave late thrust with a 39-ball 61, striking at 156.41 with three fours and four sixes.
“I believe they set a very good target, we didn’t know they would reach 320. We thought about 260 when we lost early wickets. The Will Young-Latham association was significant. We attempted, but they batted very intelligently and that’s why they reached that score. The pitch wasn’t easy to bat in the early stages, but Will Young and Latham’s batting was significant. Our finish in the last overs was not good, and that’s why they scored that,” said Rizwan during the post-match presentation. Pakistan’s pursuit stumbled in front of a home crowd desperate to see an ICC tournament game in their nation for the first time since 1996. Following early losses of Saud Shakeel and Rizwan, Babar Azam struggled to find pace, making a slow 64 from 90 balls, leaving Pakistan in a precarious position.
The defeat leaves in a tricky situation before their high-pressure encounter against India. With Bangladesh also part of the group, their path to the semi-finals has been tougher, and it is now important for them to address their batting issues and gain early momentum in future games.
But Rizwan maintained that the team would not be subjected to extra pressure before playing their arch-rivals.
“We lost momentum at two places, first in death overs and second in powerplay with the bat. Losing Fakhar Zaman as an opener proved to be extremely important. We did not wish to put undue pressure on us by thinking of ourselves as a defending champion team. This match is over now, and we have another run-of-the-mill match against us,” he further added.