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Mohammad Rizwan was critical of his Pakistan side making the same mistakes as they suffered an embarassing defeat on home soil against New Zealand in the Champions Trophy 2025 opener.
New Zealand beat Pakistan by 60 runs in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 group-stage fixture. (Image: AP)
Following the crushing defeat at home in the Champions Trophy 2025 tournament-opener, Pakistan’s skipper Mohammad Rizwan reflected on the loss and suggested that his side did not expect New Zealand’s all-round performance at Karachi on Wednesday.
The Men in Green were beaten by 60 runs in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 opener against New Zealand that was held at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.
Pakistan despite having the home advantage coupled with winning the toss, made the incorrect decision of bowling first as the wicket became tougher to bat once the floodlights kicked in. Nonetheless, their top-order failure to fire cost the defending champions this time.
“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,” Rizwan commented in the post-match presentation ceremony, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
“We see the pitch conditions, earlier the pitch wasn’t easy to bat but when Will Young and Latham got together and batted it got easier. At the end, we made the same mistake like we did in Lahore and they made a good target,” he added.
Pakistan had to make changes to their top-order with Fakhar Zaman picking up an injury in the first over of the game. Rizwan updated that his test results have yet to come out but the player was in pain.
“Not sure yet, he hasn’t got his result yet. He is in some pain,” Rizwan revealed.
“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,” he concluded.
The captain also highlighted how his side was unable to maintain momentum with the ball or the bat. He remains disappointed in the performance as Pakistan looks forward to their remaining group-stage games.
Pakistan will now travel to Dubai where they have a must-win game against arch-rivals India. With their survival in the tournament at stake, the title-holders will look to bring in their best game in what will be an entertaining clash between two rival nations.
- Location :
Karachi, Pakistan
