- Advertisement -
Pakistan began their 2025 Champions Trophy marketing campaign with a loss to New Zealand.© AFP
“I think they made a very good target, we didn’t expect they would get 320. We thought around 260 when we took early wickets. The Will Young-Latham partnership was crucial. We tried, but they played very smartly and that’s why they got to that total. The pitch was not easy to bat early on, but Will Young and Latham’s innings were crucial. Our execution in the end overs was not good, and that’s why they made that score,” stated Rizwan within the post-match presentation.
Pakistan’s chase nonetheless did not reside as much as the hype of the house crowd, having gotten the chance to observe a significant ICC event recreation within the nation for the primary time since 1996.
After Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan’s early dismissals, the house floor witnessed a lacklustre innings from Babar Azam as he inched his option to a complete of 64 on the evening, in 90 balls, leaving the hosts in a tough place.
This defeat leaves Pakistan in a precarious place forward of their high-stakes encounter in opposition to arch-rivals India. The defending champions might want to tackle their batting issues shortly, significantly their lack of intent and incapacity to construct momentum early within the innings. With Bangladesh additionally of their group, the highway to the semi-finals has grow to be considerably harder, and any additional slip-ups might show expensive.
Rizwan stated his crew won’t be taking any added strain for the essential tie vs India and can deal with it as a traditional recreation.
“We lost momentum twice, first in the death overs and then in the powerplay with the bat. Losing Fakhar Zaman [as opener] was crucial. We didn’t want to put pressure on ourselves by thinking we are defending champions. This match is gone, and the next match is another normal match for us,” he added.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
Matters talked about on this article
- Advertisement -