Pakistan Bets On This To Qualify For Champions Trophy 2025 Semifinal After Opening Defeat

Pakistan’s home ICC campaign during the Champions Trophy 2025 hasn’t started smoothly, as they faced a huge 60-run defeat during their opening game at the National Stadium in Karachi against New Zealand. Despite getting the upper hand initially, they didn’t grab the advantage initially.

The eight-team tournament has such a short turnaround. The defeat of the Mohammad Rizwan-led team could have a huge effect on the Green Brigade’s fate in the event, breaking their hope of doing well in a home ICC event after nearly three decades.

Pakistan’s sloppy batting spoils a 321-run chase

Winning the toss, Rizwan didn’t hesitate much in deciding to bowl first on a surface that looked dry. The dew, like the last few days, could hold the surface to make the batting look so comfortable in the middle. At 73/3 in the 17th over, losing the former Kiwi captain Kane Williamson, the visitors were in a spot of bother.

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But the 118-run stand for the fourth wicket between centurion opener Will Young and wicket-keeper Tom Latham helped the Blackcaps to push up a good score on the board. Despite Young’s dismissal on 107 runs, thanks to 12 boundaries and one six, Latham increased the pace of his batting and drilled unbeaten 118 runs in 104 balls, shouldering on 10 boundaries and three sixes.

Glenn Phillip’s aggressive knock of 61 runs in just 39 deliveries pushed the Mitchell Santer-led side to 320/5 in their allotted 50 overs. With Fakhar Zaman spending a lot of time outside the ground due to an internal injury, Pakistan opened with Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel.

They regularly lost wickets and never had the firepower to win the mountain chase. Babar collected 64 runs in 90 deliveries, which never allowed the side to reach the target. When he got out, the home side was struggling at 153/6 in 34 overs.

Vice-captain Salman Ali Agha tried hard for his 42 runs in 28 deliveries, thanks to six boundaries and one six at a strike rate of 150, while Khusdil Shah came to the party late for his cracking 69 runs in 49 runs, thanks to 10 boundaries and one six. However, nothing proved to be enough for the home side’s survival.

Pakistan can qualify for the Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal on these routes

With the defeat, Pakistan has a damaging net run rate of -1.20. Their future won’t be easy, but they can still survive until the semifinal of the event. Their next fixture is against India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on February 23, before they take on Bangladesh in Rawalpindi.

If they want to qualify for the semifinal, they will hope to win their remaining two games. They also expect India or Bangladesh to lose two of their three group games in the eight-team competition. In that case, they will have four points.

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The second way could be letting New Zealand win all games to top the chart. But the other three team sides end up winning one of the three group games, which will bring the equation to the net run rate. However, a defeat against India in their next encounter will more or less knock Pakistan out of the mega event.

Pakistan seeks aggressive batting from Babar Azam

Babar Azam’s knock received a lot of criticism. In a 321-run knock, an opener batting at a strike rate of 71 will put pressure on the middle and lower order. The home side’s bowling was also very poor, especially in the last 10 overs.

None of their pacers or spinners could make inroads in the middle overs as the set batters opened their arms to nail the big shots around the park to carry the Blackcaps over 320, which at one point, seemed to be ending at 280.