Pakistan opening batter Fakhar Zaman who was stationed at mid-off during Shaheen Shah Afridi's first over left the field after he had done some damage to his knee or sides. The incident happened during the second ball of the first over when Will Young was off the mark with three runs. After getting injured, he left the field and Kamran Ghulam took his place.
However, the batter injured his right leg and it doesn't seem serious. He will likely come back to the field.
Earlier, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and elected to bowl first in the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 opener against New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi. The hosts have brought in Haris Rauf for this match, and on the other hand, Blackcaps included Matt Henry in their line-up. Both teams are placed in Group A along with India and Bangladesh.
"We will bowl first. Seen the last couple of matches dew comes in later, so want to maximise on that. We are the defending champions so will be in a bit more pressure, but we will treat it like the previous tri-series. Playing in Pakistan will be great as well. Haris Rauf is fit again, so he's back in," Rizwan said after winning the toss.
New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner said that the dew will come into play later in the day so they have to play accordingly. Star Rachin Ravindra who got injured during tri-nation missed his spot from playing XIs.
"The dew gets on later, but we have a job to do with the bat. Looks like a good wicket. We have a good mix of experience and new faces, and are playing some good cricket as well. We have been lucky to play these guys home and away, so we know each other well. What's most important is getting used to the conditions here in Karachi. The injuries we've had are unfortunate, but are confident with the boys that we have out here. Matt Henry comes back in for us," Santner said.
Playing XIs
New Zealand (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, William ORourke
Pakistan (Playing XI): Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk/c), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.