In the opening match of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 Pakistan national cricket team captain Mohammad Rizwan shared his thoughts following his team's 60-run loss to New Zealand cricket team at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi. Rizwan admitted that his team was surprised by New Zealand's total of 320/5 particularly after expecting a score around 260.

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New Zealand's innings was powered by centuries from Will Young (107) and Tom Latham (118*) whose partnership proved crucial after the Kiwis lost two early wickets. Rizwan acknowledged the difficulty his side faced in containing the New Zealand batters especially during the game-changing acceleration from Glenn Phillips after Young’s dismissal.

"They made a good target, we didn't expect that. We were looking at something around 260. We tried our best and used all tactics, but they played well and put up a good target," said Rizwan in the post-match interview.

On Pakistan’s struggles with the bat, Rizwan said, "We see the pitch conditions, earlier the pitch wasn't easy to bat but when Will Young and Latham got together batted it got easier. At the end, we made the same mistake like we did in Lahore and they made a good target. We didn't get a good start with the bat," Mohammad Rizwan Said.

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"Not sure yet, he hasn't got his result yet. He is in some pain. We lost the momentum twice—once while bowling in the death and then while batting in the powerplay," Rizwan added.

Despite the loss, Rizwan remains hopeful that Pakistan can bounce back in the tournament, stating, "It is disappointing for us, we played it like a normal match. The match is gone now, and hopefully we can do better in the rest."