Credit: ICC
On the second delivery of the Champions Trophy 2025 match between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi, the latter’s opener Will Young played a stroke towards mid-wicket against the pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi towards the boundary, but Fakhar Zaman, who was following the ball to contain the runs, felt discomfort in his lower back moments later. The Southpaw was seemingly in pain which made Pakistan fans anxious. Eventually, Zaman left the field and Kamran Ghulam walked into the middle as a substitute to take the veteran opener’s place.
At the toss, Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan emerged victorious against his New Zealand counterpart Mitchell Santner and invited the visitors to bat first. Pacer Haris Rauf has made a comeback in the hosts’ starting XI against the Kiwi side. Zaman is crucial for Pakistan’s ongoing campaign as the defending champions can’t afford his unavailability as they are already missing the services of Saim Ayub, who couldn’t make it to the Champions Trophy 2025 squad after failing to recover from an ankle injury he picked up during Pakistan’s Test series against South Africa in January this year.
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New Zealand gets a stable start from their openers
As of 2:54 PM, New Zealand have accumulated 26 runs on the board in 4.4 overs. Will Young has scored 17 runs off 20 deliveries, while Devon Conway has played run-a-ball innings of nine. Naseem Shah has splurged 12 runs in his two-over spell ,while Shaheen has also given away 14 runs in his 2.4 overs.
Pakistan playing XI: Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (C) & (WK), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
New Zealand playing XI: Will Young, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (WK), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewall, Mitchell Staner (C), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke.
