Champions Trophy 2025: Rizwan explains Pakistan’s loss to New Zealand

Pakistan’s Champions Trophy campaign started on a disappointing note as they lost to New Zealand by 60 runs in their opening match at the National Bank Stadium on Wednesday.  

After the match, Pakistan’s white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan admitted that poor execution in the final overs cost them the game.  

New Zealand set a strong total of 320 runs, which Rizwan said was unexpected, especially after Pakistan took early wickets.  

"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,” said Rizwan.  

Will Young and Tom Latham both scored centuries, building a game-changing partnership that took the match away from Pakistan.  

“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,” Rizwan explained.    

Rizwan also talked about the absence of opener Fakhar Zaman, who was unavailable due to injury.  

“Let's see what the result from the [scan] is. We lost momentum twice, first in the death overs and then in the powerplay with the bat. Losing Fakhar Zaman [as opener] was crucial,” he said.  

Despite being the defending champions, Rizwan said that Pakistan is not thinking about past achievements and is treating every match as a fresh challenge.  

“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 stated.  

Pakistan will now face India in a high-stakes match in Dubai on February 23.