In the first match of the Champions Trophy 2025, New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 60 runs in its own home.
Babar’s army won the toss and chose to bowl, but this decision proved costly for them. The NZ batsmen set the field on fire and made a mountain of 320 runs.
First innings: Latham-Young’s century blast, Pak bowlers in trouble!
Tom Latham (118 *) and Will Young (107) thrashed the Pakistani bowlers! Both of them batted so stormy that the entire Karachi stadium was surprised.
Even star bowlers like Shaheen Afridi could not take a single wicket and conceded 68 runs! In the last overs, Glenn Phillips (61 runs, in just 39 balls) created such a stir that Pakistani fans were stunned. 83 runs were wasted in Haris Rauf’s 10 overs.
Second innings: Babar-Khushdil’s efforts failed, NZ bowlers wreaked havoc!
Chasing the huge target of 321 runs, Pakistan’s boat started to wobble from the very beginning. Saud Shakeel (6) and captain Rizwan (only 3 runs) returned to the pavilion early. Babar Azam scored 64 runs but his slow batting (90 balls) proved costly for the team.
Khushdil Shah raised hopes by hitting a stormy 69 runs (off 49 balls), but O’Roark and Santner’s deadly bowling shattered Pakistan’s dreams! The entire team collapsed for 260 runs.
CT 2025, PAK vs NZ Scorecard
Venue: National Stadium, Karachi
Result: New Zealand won by 60 runs
New Zealand – 320/5 (50 Overs)
- Tom Latham – 118* (104), 10 fours, 3 sixes
- Will Young – 107 (113), 12 fours, 1 six
- Glenn Phillips – 61 (39), 3 fours, 4 sixes
Best Bowlers (Pakistan):
- Naseem Shah – 2/63
- Haris Rauf – 2/83
- Abrar Ahmed – 1/47
Pakistan – 260/10 (47.2 Overs)
- Babar Azam – 64 (90), 6 fours, 1 six
- Khushdil Shah – 69 (49), 10 fours, 1 six
- Agha Salman – 42 (28), 6 fours, 1 six
Best Bowlers (New Zealand):
- William O’Rourke – 3/47
- Mitchell Santner – 3/66
- Matt Henry – 2/25
New Zealand secured a comfortable 60-run victory, with Tom Latham’s unbeaten 118 leading the charge!
PAK vs NZ After Match Statment
Mitchell Santner (New Zealand Captain)
” We went on really well with the bat. Young and Latham were excellent. Phillips towards the end gave us some great impetus. 280 seemed to be about par on this surface but the partnerships always help. After the score we got on the board, our two seamers were unbelievable in the powerplay. We squeezed the runs and we were able to chip in with the wickets throughout.
We kind of expect Glenn Phillips to pull off those stunners. Was important for us to get rid of Rizwan and Fakhar. It helped us to keep them under check in the middle overs. The Tri-Series gave us exposure and we are familiar with the conditions now. The slightly shorter length works here and the spinners need to bowl slower and that helps their cause. It was a tough wicket to start on and we had to do the hard yards. We build up on the dots and then it yielded the results for us in the end. ”
Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan Captain)
” New Zealand got a big score on the board and we didn’t expect them to get to that big a score. We picked up early wickets but they played smartly post that which helped them to get there. Will Young and Latham were good for them. The conditions weren’t easy early on and we thought that even 250 could have been a good score. Our execution wasn’t the best with the ball early on.
Not sure about the extent of Fakhar’s injury and we’re waiting for the report. We lost the momentum twice, first in the slog overs of the first innings and then we lost the momentum again in the middle overs. Every match is important for us. There is extra pressure for us as we’re defending champions but we are looking to do our best. ”
Tom Latham is the Player of the Match, here is what he had to say:
Yeah any time you play on the surface you get familiar with it. It was a bit different to the surfaces we played in the tri series. Young played a great knock and the way Phillips finished it off. We ended up scoring a well above score. Me and Young managed to go through the gears. You can make hay at the back end. Phillips has done it for the last couple of games already.
It wasn’t ideal, that just nature of batting at the back end. Thankfully I could contribute. Probably we didn’t see that too much through the tri series. It turned and bounced a bit more than both teams expected.
