Pakistan’s Champions Trophy 2025 campaign began poorly with a 60-run loss to New Zealand. After electing to bowl, Pakistan conceded 320 runs, with Will Young and Tom Latham scoring centuries. Pakistan’s batting faltered, leading to their being bowled out for 260. Former cricketer Kamran Akmal criticized the team’s performance, suggesting they deserve to play lower-ranked teams like Zimbabwe and Ireland instead. He praised New Zealand’s mature play, especially after they recovered from an early slump. Pakistani captain Mohammad Rizwan acknowledged the team’s mistakes and admitted they failed to meet expectations against a solid New Zealand side.
Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan in action© AFP
Pakistan’s Champions Trophy 2025 campaign began on a disappointing note as they fell to New Zealand by 60 runs. Choosing to bowl first, Pakistan conceded 320 runs, with Will Young and Tom Latham both hitting centuries. Subsequently, the hosts were dismissed for 260, as their batting lineup struggled to mount a robust challenge against the Kiwis. For New Zealand, captain Mitchell Santner and William O’Rourke each claimed three wickets. Following this defeat, former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal criticized Mohammad Rizwan and his teammates for their lackluster performance.
In a discussion on ARY News, Kamran expressed his discontent with Team Pakistan, claiming they were unworthy of participating in the Champions Trophy.
“Zimbabwe aur Ireland ki series ho rahi hai, udhar jaayein. Wahan jaake khelein aur agar hum udhar jeette hain toh hum deserve karte hain (Champions Trophy). Humari iss tarah ki cricket ho rahi hai. Itni neeche gir gayi hai humari cricket pichle 6-7 saal mein. (There’s a series happening between Zimbabwe and Ireland. Go there and play. If we win there, then we deserve to play in the Champions Trophy. This reflects the state of Pakistan cricket. Our cricket standards have drastically declined in the last 6-7 years.)” remarked Kamran.
During the opening match of the Champions Trophy, New Zealand found themselves in trouble at 73/3, but centuries from Will Young and Tom Latham propelled them to a total of 320/5 in 50 overs. Kamran lauded New Zealand for their composed style of play.
“They (New Zealand) were three wickets down early in the match. Observe their maturity; they took their time, rotated the strike, and began to score heavily only after gaining complete control. That’s what a mature team does. They always come prepared with a backup plan. Their batter Rachin Ravindra got injured, yet his replacement (Will Young) also scored a century,” Kamran stated.
After the game, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan acknowledged that the team made errors against the Kiwis.
“They set a challenging target, one we didn’t anticipate. We were aiming for something around 260. We tried our utmost and applied all tactics, but they played exceptionally well and posted a strong score. We analyzed the pitch conditions; earlier, it wasn’t easy to bat on, but when Will Young and Latham came together, it became easier. In the end, we made the same mistakes as we did in Lahore, resulting in a strong target for them,” said Rizwan during the post-match presentation.
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