Pakistan vs New Zealand’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 opener witnessed an intense battle as New Zealand’s Will Young brought up his fourth ODI hundred before falling to Naseem Shah. The Black Caps, who were invited to bat first at the National Stadium in Karachi, found themselves in a commanding position before Pakistan finally got the breakthrough.
Young, who came in as a replacement for Rachin Ravindra, played a brilliant knock, scoring 107 off 113 balls, including 12 fours and a six. His composed innings helped steady New Zealand after early setbacks, forming a crucial partnership with Tom Latham.
However, his stay at the crease ended when Naseem Shah, who had been probing the batters with disciplined bowling, delivered a well-aimed length ball on the stumps. The delivery didn’t rise as much as Young expected, and his attempted pull shot only resulted in a miscue. The ball ballooned up in the air, and substitute fielder Faheem Ashraf took a safe catch at deep square leg, bringing Young’s fine innings to an end.
This century makes Will Young the latest New Zealand batter to join an elite list of centurions in the ICC Champions Trophy. He now shares the milestone with Nathan Astle (145* vs USA, 2004), Chris Cairns (102* vs India, 2000 Final), and Kane Williamson (100 vs Australia, 2017).
At the time of Young’s dismissal, New Zealand was 191/4 in 37.1 overs, with Tom Latham holding firm at the other end. With more than ten overs remaining, the Kiwis will be hoping for a strong finish, while Pakistan will look to capitalize on this breakthrough to put further pressure on the batting side.
