CT 2025: Pakistan win toss; opt to bowl first against New Zealand in tournament opener

Karachi [Pakistan], February 19 (ANI): Pakistan skipper Muhammad 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 on Wednesday.

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 day so they have to play accordingly.

"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.

Teams:

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. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)