In the highly anticipated opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl first, facing New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi. The match began with Pakistan’s fast bowlers exerting pressure on New Zealand’s top order, and the first over saw Shaheen Afridi forcing Will Young into a risky shot that was ultimately driven through the covers. However, a change from the other end saw Haris Rauf replacing Naseem Shah, which brought even more intensity to the contest.
Rauf’s first delivery to Will Young was a short ball aimed at his body, but Young anticipated the delivery perfectly and smashed it for a six over deep square leg. The aggressive shot was in response to some playful banter between the two teams. Pakistan’s Captain, Mohammad Rizwan, had approached the umpire earlier to signal to the New Zealand batting team to speed up as their fielding side was ready, and Young responded to the challenge with his bold six. The tension between the teams added to the spectacle of this exciting opening match.
As of the 12.3 over mark, New Zealand was at 63/2, with Will Young on 44 runs and Daryl Mitchell on 5 runs. Pakistan’s bowlers, especially Rauf, continued to pressurize the New Zealand batsmen. The partnership between the two batsmen stood at 23 runs.
Match Details:
- Teams: New Zealand (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, William O’Rourke
- Pakistan (Playing XI): Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (w/c), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
- Toss: Pakistan (Bowling)
- Venue: National Stadium, Karachi
- Date & Time: February 19, 2025, 2:00 PM Local
Key Stats:
- Partnership: 23 runs off 26 balls
- Last Wicket: Kane Williamson c Mohammad Rizwan b Naseem Shah (1 run off 2 balls) – NZ 40/2 in 8.1 overs
- Recent: 0/3 for Naseem Shah and 0/8 for Rauf in 0.3 and 1 over respectively.