Pakistan young pacer Naseem Shah once again proved his worth by breaking the 118 runs stand between Will Toung and Tom Latham during the opening game of the Champions Trophy at Karachi.
Naseem Shah broke the century stand by dismissing Will Young for 107 runs. In the second delivery of the 38th over, Shah gets the breakthrough by bowling a length ball onto the stumps.
Young stays still and looks to pull it away but skews it in the air off the bottom end. The ball goes high in the air and Faheem Ashraf who fields at deep square catches the ball right in time.
Speaking of the game, Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl first where Devon Conway and Will Young opened the inning for New Zealand. Pakistan star pacer Shaheen Afridi opened the bowling attack.
In the very first game of the Champions Trophy, Pakistan faced a massive blow as their left-handed opening batter Fakhar Zaman sustained an injury. Pakistan have included Kamran Ghulam as his replacement in the field.
New Zealand’s opening batters made a steady start and turned the loose deliveries in their favour. While New Zealand batters seen cemented, Abrar Ahmed dismissed Devon Conway for 10 in the third delivery of the 8th over and registered the first wicket of the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Abrar strikes! ☝
The first wicket of #ChampionsTrophy 2025 & it’s Devon Conway who departs!
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In the very next over, Naseem Shah dismissed dangerous Kane Williamson for just one run and bagged the second wicket of the game. It is worth mentioning that Naseem Shah still needs just four wickets to complete 50 ODI wickets.
At the end of 10 overs, New Zealand managed to score 48 runs after losing two wickets. After losing two key players inside the first powerplay, New Zealand starts to play with caution.
Haris Rauf replaces Naseem in the 13th over and was welcomed with a maximum from Will Young. Both Young and Daryl Mitchell started to build a steady partnership while Pakistan bowlers sought an opportunity to break the partnership which pushed New Zealand to score 71 for two at the end of 15 overs.
Soon in the second delivery of the 17th over, Haris Rauf dismissed Mitchell for 10 and brought Pakistan back into the game. In the final delivery of the 17th over, with a single, Will Young scored first fifty of Champions Trophy 2025 which is also his 11th in the format.
At the end of 20 overs, New Zealand scored 93 runs after losing three wickets. Pakistan bowlers struggled to break the partnership as Tom Latham and Will Young made a stand for more than 70 runs which moved the team’s score to 151 for the same three wickets loss at the end of 30 overs.
The duo continued their momentum and secured a 100 runs stand which pushed New Zealand to score 175 at the end of 35 overs. During the process, Will Young secured his maiden century in the Champions Trophy in 107 deliveries.
Naseem Shah broke 118 runs stand between Young and Tom Latham in the second delivery of the 38th over by dismissing Will for 107 runs.
