Will Young and Tom Latham hit centuries as New Zealand beat Pakistan to kick off the Champions Trophy
Match Report: New Zealand win by 60 runs
ScorecardHosts Pakistan humbled as twin tons help Kiwis clinch opener
New Zealand have made an impressive start to the Champions Trophy with a comfortable 60-run victory over hosts and holders Pakistan in the tournament's opening match.
Will Young struck 107 and Tom Latham smashed an unbeaten 118 to help New Zealand overcome a tricky start to post 5-320 after being put into bat at the National Stadium in Karachi.
Glenn Phillips chipped in with a brisk 61 as New Zealand posted a challenging total after being put in to bat and slipping to 3-73 in the 17th over.
"I think Pakistan bowled pretty well...but the way Young and Tommy were able to rotate (strike) and get the odd boundary, that partnership set us a very good platform," New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said.
"We were thinking 260-280, but it shows what you can do if you have a platform and wickets in hand."
Pakistan's chase never really started, being 2-22 after ten overs. Fakhar Zaman was unable to open having been off the field for some time with a rib muscle injury sustained early in New Zealand's innings and the reshaped order struggled against tight bowling and superb fielding.
Babar Azam made 64 but took 90 balls to do so while Fakhar, when he batted, was struggling even to run a single. He made 24 off 41.
Although Khushdil Shah (69 off 49) and Salman Ali Agha (42 off 28) provided some late hitting, Pakistan were always well behind the rate and were all out for 260 in 47.2 overs.
Santner and Will O'Rourke each took three wickets while Michael Bracewell's 10 overs went for 38 and Matt Henry took 2-25 off 7.2 overs.
"Losing Fakhar Zaman (as opener) was crucial," Muhammad Rizwan said. "We lost momentum twice, first (bowling) in the death overs and then in the Powerplay with the bat.
"We didn't expect they would get 320. We thought they'd get around 260 when we took those early wickets."
By the end the initially raucous crowd was silent, hushed by the disappointment on what was a landmark day for Pakistan as they hosted a major cricket tournament for the first time in 29 years.
They now go to Dubai to play archrivals India knowing defeat, given the damage this loss inflicted on their net run-rate, could knock them out of their own tournament. The match is in Dubai due to political tensions between the nations.
With Fakhar likely to be absent, the pressure on their misfiring batting line up is considerable.
"This match is gone, and the next match is another normal match for us," insisted Rizwan.
2025 ICC men's Champions Trophy standings
Round 1
Group A
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
IND
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.715 | 0 | 6 |
|
2
NZ
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.267 | 0 | 4 |
|
3
BAN
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | -0.443 | 0 | 1 |
|
4
PAK
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | -1.087 | 0 | 1 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
Group B
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
SA
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.395 | 0 | 5 |
|
2
AUS
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.475 | 0 | 4 |
|
3
AFG
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -0.99 | 0 | 3 |
|
4
ENG
|
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | -1.159 | 0 | 0 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points