New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan during practice. Photo: AFP
Defending champions Pakistan will take on New Zealand in the Champions Trophy 2025 opener in Karachi today. Ahead of the contest, here we look at some of the interesting facts:
- Pakistan and New Zealand faced off 118 times in ODIs, with Pakistan holding a slight edge with 61 wins to New Zealand’s 53. Three matches have ended without a result, while one ended in a tie.
- Pakistan are yet to secure a win against New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy. They lost all three of their matches against the Black Caps.
- New Zealand, however, come into the contest on the back of consecutive wins against Pakistan in Lahore and Karachi in the recently concluded Tri-Nation Series (also involving South Africa) which the Black Caps won.
- Pakistan, on the other hand, got the better of New Zealand in their last 50-over meeting in an ICC event. They beat the Black Caps by 21 runs in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
- New Zealand hold a narrow advantage at the National Stadium in Karachi, the venue for the match, as they boast five wins compared to Pakistan’s four in nine meetings at the ground.
- The National Stadium, known for flat pitches and high-scoring contests, has seen an average first innings total of 303 in the last five matches.
- Fakhar Zaman — the player of the final in the 2017 edition of the tournament — Babar Azam, and Faheem Ashraf are the three members from Pakistan’s triumphant campaign in 2017 to have been included in the squad this time around.
- Fakhar has played the most number of ODIs against the Black Caps, featuring in 19 out of his 85 matches. He averages 65.81 and has a best score of 180 not out against the Black Caps.
- Kane Williamson has scored the most runs in New Zealand-Pakistan contests, amassing 1290 runs in 24 matches at an average of 56.08. The right-handed batter boasts eight half-centuries and three centuries against Pakistan.
