πππππ :ββ Pakistan vs New Zealandβ ββ
ππππ : February 19, Wednesday
ππππ : 14:30 PM ISTββ
πππππ : National Stadium Karachi, Karachi East, Pakistanβ
ππππππππππ : 1st ODI 2025
We have waited for eight years but finally the ICC Champions Trophy returns on Wednesday as Pakistan host New Zealand in match one!
- Pakistan have lost two of their last three ODIs.
- New Zealand come into this game looking to make it four successive ODI victories.
- Three of the last four head to heads in this format have been won by New Zealand, including two earlier this month!
Pakistan vs New Zealand
TV channels: The fans can watch the match live on Hotstar
Live Streaming: Live streaming of the match will be available on the FAFA191 Cricket Exchange India and website.
TEAMS PREVIEW
Pakistan Preview
Pakistan may not be playing their best cricket at the moment but they are still a side who are packed with match-winners and top international players.
Right-handed opener Babar Azam may not be in the best form of his career but he recently went past 6000 ODI runs and a player of his class will find form again at some point. Fortunately his opening partner, Fakhar Zaman, is hitting the ball cleanly and will be confident coming into this game.
Pakistan’s most consistent batters in this format are skipper Mohammed Rizwan and Salman Agha who will bat at four and five. Between the pair, they have scored almost 60% of their team’s runs in their last two ODIs.
New Zealand Preview
New Zealand were without Lockie Ferguson, Ben Sears, Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra for the final of the Pakistan Tri-Nation Series but still had more than enough in the locker to win the final against Pakistan on Sunday.
Ahead of this opener, the mood-music is that only Matt Henry will return to the XI with Rachin Ravindra not far away but not worth risking at this stage.
In the batting department, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips have all made big scores on this trip and every New Zealand side always has batting depth.
With the ball, the returning Henry will lead the attack with Michael Bracewell alongside Mitchell Santner providing vital control with accurate spin bowling.
Weather Conditions
The game will get underway at 14:00 local time, the hottest time of the day with the sun blaring out and the temperature at 29 degrees. Even after sundown, it will still be over 24 degrees in Karachi throughout the evening.
PAK vs NZ Pitch Report
Sunday’s final of the Pakistan Tri-Nation Series showed that there is something for both the batters and bowlers. No batter made a score of over 57 and it was Pakistan’s 242 which was easily overhauled by New Zealand with 28 balls and five wickets in hand. A par total looks to be around 300 on a pitch with consistent bounce.
Toss: To Bat
Of the last ten ODIs at the National Stadium in Karachi, five have been won by the team fielding first with five won by the side bowling first! With the hottest weather of the day likely to be in the first innings, we predict that both captains will want to bat first.
