Friday 21 / February / 2025
Karachi : New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner admitted they were initially targeting a score somewhere between 260-280. However, a strong platform allowed them to blaze their way to a daunting 320/5 in the Champions Trophy opener against defending champions Pakistan in Karachi.
On a dry Karachi strip filled with cracks, Pakistan breezed past New Zealand's resilient batting order, featuring Devon Conway, Kane Willamson and Daryl Mitchell.
Pakistan was flying high, with New Zealand facing a grim future and needing a miracle stand to lift them to a fighting total. Tom Latham (118*) and Will Young (107) rose as New Zealand's saviours by stitching up a 118-run partnership.
After Young's dismissal, the stage was set for Glenn Phillips to evoke a feeling of de ja vu in Karachi, and he left no stone unturned to send shivers down Pakistan's bowling unit.
He ignited Karachi's sky with his fireworks and entertained the spectators with his 61 from a mere 39 deliveries, laced with three boundaries and four towering sixes. With Latham at the other end, New Zealand finished their turn with an imposing 320/5, far ahead of what they had expected.
"I thought Pakistan bowled well, even through the middle stage, but Young and Latham rotated the strike well and got the odd boundary that really set us up. We were thinking 260-280, but it shows what you can do if you have a platform and wickets in hand. After the score we got, the first 10 overs with the ball were outstanding, the way our new-ball guys were able to smash a length," Santner said in the post-match presentation.
New Zealand set out to defend their total and left Pakistan's top order in tatters with their awe-inspiring spells. William ORourke punched Saud Shakeel's return ticket to the dressing room. He stung Pakistan back by luring skipper Mohammad Rizwan to go hard on the cut shot.
The moment when the ball flew from the bat, Rizwan expected it to race straight to the boundary line. However, Glenn Phillips spread his wings, dived to his left within a blink of an eye, and plucked his left hand out to take an absolute banger.
"We built the run-rate pressure and were able to chip wickets throughout. We kind of expect that from Glenn [the catch], and getting Rizwan like that was outstanding," he added.
New Zealand were clinical with the way they conducted themselves with the ball. The seamers constantly hit the short length while spinners resorted to slower deliveries to keep the scoring rate in check.
"Tonight, there wasn't much dew, maybe because of the wind, but hitting that slightly shorter length - 9-10m - was crucial for the quicks, and bowling a little slower for our spinners, we were able to get it to grip. And our ground fielding was outstanding. We were able to squeeze the new batsmen," he concluded.
With a staggering 60-run victory and two points in their kitty, New Zealand will now head to Rawalpindi for their second group-stage clash against Bangladesh on February 24.
