With a 60-run loss to New Zealand in the opening game at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi, captain Muhammad Rizwan and Pakistan’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign got off to a dismal start.

Using Pakistan’s incapacity to limit runs in the middle and death overs, New Zealand set a challenging target of 321 runs. The white-ball captain of Pakistan spoke openly about the team’s inadequacies following the defeat.

Also Read: Smart Parents Invest in Real Estate: Buy Plot for Children’s Future

“I think they made a very good target; we didn’t expect they would get 320,” Rizwan stated during the post-match presentation. When we took early wickets, we estimated that we would reach 260.

He went on to explain, “Will Young and Latham’s knocks were essential, but the pitch was difficult to bat early on. They scored that because of our poor performance in the final overs.

Pakistan’s chase got off to a rough start as the squad struggled to gain momentum and lost early wickets. Rizwan said,

Pakistan had great expectations going into the tournament because they were the reigning champions. Rizwan stressed, nonetheless, that the group was not allowing the stress of defending their championship to change their attitude.

“Believing that we are defending champs puts undue pressure on us. This match is over, and we’ll play another typical match after this one,” Rizwan stated.

Pakistan’s next game is against their bitter rivals, India, a contest that always has great meaning for both players and supporters. In spite of the excitement surrounding the match, Rizwan remained composed and insisted that the team will treat it like any other game.

For the time being, the emphasis is still on growing from their errors and getting back stronger. “This match is gone, and the next match is another normal match for us,” Rizwan said succinctly.