Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are the brightest stars of the Pakistan cricket team presently. Both of them have been phenomenal in 2021 and prove themselves every time they stepped on the field. Certainly, they are also the top 2 highest run-scorers in T20 in a calendar year. They achieve this landmark in 2021. The comparison of Babar Azam vs Mohammad Rizwan is definitely going to be a head-to-head one. There are hardly any differences in their stats this year and finding out the better one between these two is definitely going to be an interesting one.

Babar Azam vs Mohammad Rizwan:

Babar Azam:

Read also: Pakistan vs Australia: Pakistan to procure drop-in pitches to simulate Australian conditions

Babar Azam, one of the best of his time, executed great performances in T20 cricket 2021. The Pakistan skipper is leading the team to a great extent and also fulfilling his responsibilities as an important batter of the team. 2021 saw some of his brilliant knocks and the way he proved himself to be the next big thing in the world of cricket. India vs Pakistan match of 2021 T20 World Cup is definitely the most talked-about match of the year. Pakistan's performance was remarkable in the match but the captain stole the limelight that night. He scored 68 brands in 52 balls and helped the team to register their maiden win against India in T20 World Cup. Babar also scored his first made in the T20I century this year against South Africa.

In a T20I series against the Proteas, Babar Azam registered his 1st T20I century and also broke many records. Azam made 122 runs in this match and interestingly this is his highest individual T20I score this year. He continued executing his fiery and unbelievable skills in the T20I series against England where he made 85 runs in the first match hosted in Trent Bridge. The Pakistani batter remained remarkable all throughout the year, especially in the T20 World Cup. He continued his form in the most recent T20I series against West Indies as well. It is only a matter of time to see the Pakistani skipper breaking more records and enlisting his names with the legends of the sport. He played in 43 matches and aggregated 1746 runs including 50+ scores.

Read also: Most Man Of The Series Awards in a calendar year

Mohammad Rizwan:

Read also: Most T20 runs in a calendar year

2021 has been a phenomenal year for another Pakistan batter as well and he is none other than Mohammad Rizwan. Rizwan not only played some prolific partnerships with Babar Azam but also contributed to individual performances immensely. Just yesterday he made the record of becoming the first batter to reach the landmark of 2000 T20I runs in a single calendar year. Pakistan was playing a 3-match T20I series against West Indies in Karachi. On the 3rd and the final match, Pakistan's Rizwan achieved this milestone in the 11th over and also won the match and the series.

The Pakistani opener started his T20 journey in 2021 with an absolute bang where he scored 104* against South Africa. He continued his streak in the next few matches as well and scored quite some overwhelming runs for the team. He was great in the T20I series against Zimbabwe as well. Within only 4 months to 2021, he hit 5 half-centuries and 1 century. July witnessed Pakistan's T20I series against England and West Indies where he once again prove himself with a prolific performance for the team and executed great performances. The most important part of 2021 was the T20 World Cup where once again he was out of the ordinary against India as he hit 79* and helped the team to win their maiden T20 World Cup win against India. The entire world got to witness some of his powerful knocks in the T20 World Cup.

The last series that he played was the West Indies tour of Pakistan where once again he scored two 50+ runs in just 3 matches. Likewise his captain, Rizwan contributed the most for the team and grew exponentially as a batter himself. He played 45 T20I matches this year and scored 2004 runs including 16 50+ scores. Also, Rizwan equals Tendulkar's record after winning his 5th Man Of The Series of 2021 last night against West Indies. Also, this is the most number of Man Of The Series won by a cricketer in a individual year.

Whom do you choose?

It is really next to impossible to create a barrier between these two cricketers to judge the better out of them. They have equally and individually remained phenomenal and the duo scored some pivotal partnerships as well. Who do you think is the better between them?

The International Cricket Council (ICC) conducts different cricket events and tournaments throughout the year. ICC tournaments are the biggest platforms in the game of cricket, where the top teams contest against each other for championship podiums.

Contributing to the team on a big stage like this will always be remembered for a long time. The ODI World Cup is conducted once every four years, whereas the Men's T20 World Cup is played every two years. The ICC Champions Trophy is where only the top 8 teams compete in each finals tournament.

Last but not least, the World Test Championship is played over two years. This article thoroughly talks about the men's cricketing teams that have won ICC trophies at some point in time. Let's take a look at the teams with the most ICC Trophies.

Read Also: Rohit Sharma in ICC knockout games

Australia | 10

Australia's sheer dominance over other cricketing teams is nothing new. For decades, Australia has been executing out-of-ordinary performances and winning trophies for the country. Out of all the cricketing countries, Australia has the most ICC trophies.

Till now the Aussies won 10 ICC trophies. Australia is the only team to win 6 ICC World Cups. The most successful team in the Cricket World Cup clinched the trophy in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015, and 2023. Interestingly Australia made a record of being the only team to win the trophy in all the countries that hosted the World Cup.

Australia won the ICC Champions Trophy twice in 2006 and 2009 against West Indies and New Zealand respectively. Lastly, Australia lifted their first-ever ICC T20 World Cup trophy after defeating New Zealand in the 2021 T20 World Cup. They claimed the ICC World Test Championship after defeating India at the Oval by a huge margin of 209 runs.

Read also: Top 8 Wicket-takers of T20 World Cup 2021

India | 7

India sits in the second position on this prestigious list of most ICC Trophies by any team. India won their first-ever ICC World Cup in 1983 under the captaincy of Kapil Dev. Later again 28 years, the men in blue won the World Cup for the second time under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2011.

The Indian men's cricket team also reached the semifinals four times in 1987, 1996, 2015, and 2019. Meantime, they lost in two finals in 2003 and 2023.

The men in blue won the Champions Trophy thrice. First, in 2002, both the finalists India and Sri Lanka were declared the co-champions of the 2002 Champions Trophy. In the 2013 edition, India defeated England by 5 runs and won the Champions Trophy for the second time in Birmingham. Their latest triumph came via Champions Trophy 2025, as they defeated New Zealand by four wickets in Dubai in the final.

Lastly, India won the inaugural edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007 after defeating Pakistan in Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. In the 2024 T20 World Cup, India defeated  South Africa by 7 runs to lift the trophy for the second time.

Read also: India's performance in every ICC tournament

West Indies | 5

Read also: T20 World Cup 2021: Man of the Series, highest wicket-taker, and highest run-getter

Next on this list is West Indies with a total of 5 ICC trophies. The first-ever ICC World Cup final was won by West Indies in 1975. West Indies once again continued their reign in the next edition of the World Cup as well, in 1979. The Caribbean team also won the Champions Trophy in 2004. Lastly, West Indies became the winner of the ICC T20 World Cup twice; once against Sri Lanka in 2012 and the other time against England in 2016.

England | 3

Till 2010, the England team has not had any ICC Tournament. But, it was in 2010, when they won their first ICC T20 World Cup against arch-rival Australia. Craig Kieswetter guided them home in the final for their first-ever ICC Trophy. Post that, they have been a phenomenal white-ball team and won two ICC World Cups since then.

In 2019, they won their first ICC Men's ODI World Cup as Ben Stokes made all the difference in the final against England in a match where boundary count helped England to win the World Cup.

England's latest ICC Trophy triumph came under Jos Buttler as they became the first-ever team in Cricket history to hold the ODI and T20 World Cup at the same time. Jos Buttler and company won the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 as Sam Curran won the player of the tournament after taking 13 wickets with the ball. Curran also was the player of the match in the final as well.

Pakistan | 3

Pakistan sits in the fourth position on the list of most ICC Trophy wins by any team with 3 ICC trophies. The first-ever ICC trophy won by Pakistan was during the 1992 cricket World Cup. Pakistan defeated England in the final and won by 22 runs.

The next ICC trophy won by Pakistan was in the 2009 T20 World Cup where they beat Sri Lanka in the final and won the title by 8 wickets. The most recent and last ICC win of Pakistan is the 2017 Champions Trophy where they defeated India by 180 runs.

Read also: "No one is more disappointed than me": Hasan Ali after T20 World Cup 2021 exit

Sri Lanka | 3

Read also: ICC Hall of fame: Shaun Pollock, Mahela Jayawardene and Janette Britti get inducted

With 3 ICC trophies, Sri Lanka sits in 5th position on this list. Sri Lanka won their first-ever ICC World Cup in 1996 where they played against Australia in the final hosted in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. They went ahead to win their next ICC trophy in the 2002 Champions Trophy. The winner of the tournament is actually both India and Sri Lanka as both the finalist teams were declared as co-champions.

The last time Sri Lanka won an ICC Trophy was when they defeated India in the 2014 T20 World Cup hosted in Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Dhaka.

New Zealand | 2

The New Zealand cricket team has won a total of 2 ICC trophies since they started competing in tournaments conducted by ICC. The Kiwis won their first-ever ICC Trophy in the 2000 Champions Trophy. Nairobi hosted the final of New Zealand vs India where New Zealand won the match by 4 wickets.

The next ICC Trophy won by the Kiwis was the ICC World Test Championship. Once again, New Zealand played against India in the final of an ICC event and clinched the trophy in the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship final.

Read also: Winners list of last 10 ICC Tournaments

South Africa | 1

With a team of talented and world-renowned cricketers, South Africa won only one ICC trophy throughout its entire history. In the 1998 ICC Champions Trophy hosted in Bangladesh, South Africa beat West Indies in the final and won the title. Jacques Kallis was exceptional and contributed the most to the team reaching and winning the final and was awarded the player of the tournament. He hit a century and picked up a five-wicket haul as well.

Note: The stats include shared trophies. The article was first written by Shreya Ghosh and then got edited by Abishek Goswami.

Indian men's cricket team finally won their first 50-over ICC title in 12 years as they defeated New Zealand in the Champions Trophy 2025 final by four wickets in Dubai. Here are the past winners of the last 10 ICC tournaments.

Read also: Every inaugural ICC tournament winners

1. T20 World Cup- West Indies (2016)

Eden Gardens, Kolkata hosted the 2016 T20 World Cup on 3rd April between England and West Indies. West Indies defeated their opponent by 4 wickets and won the final with 2 balls remaining. Carols Braithwaite with four sixes in four balls to Ben Stokes became an overnight hero for the West Indies team. Marlon Samuels scored 85* off 66 balls and became the Man of the Match.

Read also: Virat Kohli records as captain in white ball Cricket

2. Champions Trophy- Pakistan (2017)

The Oval, London hosted one of the biggest cricket rivalries on 18 June 2017. The match was the 2017 Champions Trophy final between India and Pakistan. Pakistan sent the Indian squad back to the pavilion in less than 31 overs and won the final by 180 runs. Fakhar Zaman won the man of the match award.

Read also: 5 Youngest Captains to lift the ICC Cricket World Cup

3. ICC World Cup- England (2019)

The night of 14th July 2019 has to be one of the most interesting and different in cricket history. Both England and New Zealand scored the same during their innings and also in the super-over. The result of the match was decided in an interesting method; the team with the superior number of boundaries was the winner. Hence, England won the tournament.

Read also: WTC Final: ICC Event winners since 2000

4. World Test Championship- New Zealand (2021)

Winning the World Test Championship has to be New Zealand's biggest victory in cricket history. Southampton hosted the final from 18 June to 23rd June 2021. Kane Williamson led the team to victory and the final test match by 8 wickets. With bowling figures of 5/31, 21 & 2/30, Kyle Jamieson was the Man of the match in the final.

Read also: T20 World Cup 2021: Man of the Series, highest wicket-taker, and highest run-getter

5. T20 World Cup- Australia (2021)

Australia once again proved its dominance and worth on the night of the 2021 T20 World Cup final. The entire Australian team contributed their best and clinched the trophy last night to beat New Zealand by 8 wickets. David Warner chose the best platform to prove himself after a humiliating IPL season. Mitchell Marsh scored an unbelievable knock of 77* in 50 balls and won the Man of the Match award.

6. T20 World Cup - England (2022)

England won their third ICC trophy as they clinched the T20 World Cup 2022 title after beating Pakistan in the final by five wickets. Sam Curran was adjudged the player of the tournament for his 13 wickets in the tournament. Curran was also the player of the final as his 3/22 helped England restrict Pakistan to 137 in the first inning. This was England's second T20 World Cup title.

7. World Test Championship - Australia (2023)

India again failed to win any ICC trophy since 2013 as Pat Cummins-led Australia defeated India by 209 runs. Australia scored a massive 469 in the first inning as Steve Smith and Travis Head scored tons for the Aussies. The first-inning score proved to be too much for India as they scored only 296 in the reply and Australia put more pressure with 270 in the second inning.

Despite starts for Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, India failed to get close to the score and eventually suffered the defeat. 

With this win, Josh Hazlewood, David Warner, Pat Cummins, Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc became the only players to win all ICC Trophies. 

8. ICC World Cup - Australia (2023)

Pat Cummins and Australia's dream run continued as they won the ICC Men's World Cup for a record sixth time in 2023 defeating India, again. In one of the most visited and watched World Cup finals in Ahmedabad, Australia defeated India by six wickets.

Despite a great start with the bat, India lost captain Rohit Sharma and post that kept on losing wickets. They could only score 240 in the first inning and though Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami tried their level best, Travis Head's excellent ton (137) took Australia over the line. Head was player of the match in back-to-back ICC Finals. 

Read Also: India's Finals at ICC Men's Tournaments Since 2013 

9. T20 World Cup - India (2024)

India finally broke their jinx of ICC finals after beating South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 final in Barbados. They clinched their second T20 World Cup title as Rohit Sharma's men defeated the Proteas team by seven runs in the final.

Read Also: Every Player of the Tournament winners in T20 World Cup History

Virat Kohli (76) and Axar Patel (47) played some solid knocks to take India to the highest total (176) in a T20 World Cup final. Though South Africa were cruising for an easy win, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Arhsdeep Singh managed to pull things back for India with the ball. Virat Kohli was adjudged the player of the final and Jasprit Bumrah was named the Player of the tournament for his 15 wickets in the tournament. 

10. Champions Trophy - India (2025)

India made it back-to-back global cricket tournaments with a four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy final in Dubai.

Chasing 252 against the Blackcaps, India reached home in 49 overs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The spinners put up a splendid show, helping India restrict the Blakcaps for 251 for 7 after the side latter team won the toss and opted to bat first. 

Kuldeep Yadav (2 for 40) and Varun Chakravarthy (2 for 45) picked two wickets apiece while Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami scalped one wicket each. Daryl Mitchell (63) and Michael Bracewell (53) played crucial knocks for the Blackcaps. 

In the chase, India got off to a flying start, thanks to Rohit Sharma's dominating 76. Shreyas Iyer (48) and KL Rahul (34 not out) also played crucial knocks as India edged past New Zealand to win the Champions Trophy for the third time.

This was India’s second consecutive ICC title win - it had won the T20 World Cup crown in June last year. India has now won two ODI World Cups, two T20 World Cups and three Champions Trophy titles.

Note: The article was first written by Shreya Ghosh and then got updated by Koushik Biswas.

The Indian cricket team will be aiming to continue their winning momentum when they lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan in their second Group A match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, February 23.

India and Pakistan's matches have always been considered epic clashes in the ICC tournaments. In the last decade, the two teams have not faced much due to strained relations between the two countries.

Also Read: India vs Pakistan in ICC tournament results

Here is everything you need to know before the India vs Pakistan clash in Champions Trophy 2025. 

Match Details 

• Match: India vs Pakistan 
• Tournament: Champions Trophy 2025, 5th Match Group A
• Date: 23 February 2025
• Time: 2:30 PM IST
• Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai

Streaming Details 

The live telecast of the India vs Pakistan match will be available on the Star Sports network in India.

The live streaming will be available on the JioHostar App and website in India.

India vs Pakistan: Head-to-head stats in Champions Trophy 

India have played Pakistan five times in ICC Champions Trophy. Pakistan won the first two before India drew level with two wins in the next two occasions.

Pakistan went 3-2 ahead with a win in their last encounter in 2017.

Pakistan are ahead in terms of overall ODI record as well, having won 73 games and losing 57 (NR: 5).

The arch-rivals last met in the 2023 World Cup as India claimed a massive seven-wicket win.

Meanwhile, the two teams have clashed twice in Dubai in ODIs. India prevailed on both occasions.

Read Also | India vs Pakistan head-to-head stats in ODI cricket: Who leads in ODI cricket?

Pitch Report: Dubai International Cricket Stadium 

The pitch at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium is expected to be slow.

The same was witnessed in India's opener against Bangladesh as the Tigers were bowled out for 228.

Rohit Sharma's men then comfortably chased down the target.

Team News: India

Under Rohit Sharma, India hopes to add another Champions Trophy title to their 2002 and 2013 victories.

The team dominated Bangladesh in their opening match and pulled off a win, courtesy of Shubman Gill's century and Moahmmed Shami's fifer.

Also Read: Virat Kohli stats in ICC Tournaments

Team News: Pakistan 

Meanwhile, Pakistan suffered a 60-run defeat against the Kiwis in the tournament opener.

Key players like Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi are expected to play crucial roles in Sunday's match against India.

However, Pakistan's opening batter, Fakhar Zaman, has been ruled out of the tournament with an injury.

Imam-ul-Haq has been approved by the ICC as the opener's replacement. The latter is expected to open alongside Babar Azam in the upcoming game.

Possible Lineups

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana.

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.

Fantasy team prediction: India vs Pakistan 

KL Rahul, Mohammad Rizwan, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Salman Agha, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Indian ODI captain Rohit Sharma went past Sachin Tendulkar to become the second fastest to score 11000 ODI runs during India vs Bangladesh match in ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Rohit, who has taken 261 innings to reach the landmark, went past Sachin Tendulkar who had taken 276 innings to reach the 11000 ODI runs. 

Rohit now has become only the 10th batter in history of one-day cricket to cross 11000 runs. Among the Indians, only Sourav Ganguly, Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar has scored more runs than him in the format.

Before the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Rohit was sitting at 10988 runs in the ODI format and needed only 12 runs to reach that landmark. However, Rohit could not go past the record of his fellow Indian teammate Virat Kohli who had taken only 222 innings to score 11000 runs in the Onde-Day format. 

Read Also | Fastest to take 200 ODI wickets: Mohammad Shami breaks the record of this Australian pacer

Rohit scored 41 runs off 36 balls as tried to go for a big shot against Taskin Ahmed in the final over of the powerplay. India were chasing 229 against Bangladesh in the first match of the tournament.

Read Also | Champions Trophy 2025: India vs Pakistan match preview | Head-to-head stats, Possible XI, match prediction, streaming details

Another Indian in the top five list of fastest to score 11000 ODI runs is former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who had taken 288 innings to score those runs. 

1⃣1⃣,0⃣0⃣0⃣ ODI runs and counting for Rohit Sharma! 🙌🙌

He becomes the fourth Indian batter to achieve this feat! 👏👏

Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/ggnxmdG0VK#TeamIndia | #BANvIND | #ChampionsTrophy | @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/j01YfhxPEH

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 20, 2025

Fastest to score 11000 ODI runs (Innings)

Virat Kohli -222
Rohit Sharma - 261
Sachin Tendulkar - 276
Ricky Ponting - 286
Sourav Ganguly - 288

Centuries from Tom Latham and Will Young helped New Zealand get an easy 60-run win over Pakistan in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. New Zealand posted 320 in the first inning while Pakistan were bundled out for 260 during the chase. Here are the highlights of the Pakistan vs New Zealand Champions Trophy 2025 match.

Pakistan won the toss, and Rauf made a return to the team

Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and decided to bowl first, citing the dew factor. Haris Rauf was back in the team after sustaining an injury in the tri-series. for New Zealand, Rachin Ravindra was not fit enough to feature in this match. Will Young replaced him in the playing 11 while Nathan Smith was given a chance to hit the hard lengths with the ball.

Fakhar got injured early

Pakistan suffered an early setback as Fakhar Zaman got injured while chasing a cover drive from Will Young. Kamran Ghulam replaced him right away. 

Pakistan struck with quick three wickets

Just when everything was going well for New Zealand, Abrar Ahmed gave Pakistan the breakthrough they were looking for. Abrar got rid of Devon Conway with a ripper in his second over. The ball pitched on middle and leg stump and opened up Conway to get the ott stump. 

In the next over in a rare failure, Kane Williamson departed for one. This time it was Naseem Shah, who opened up Williamson with a brilliant delivery that came in and left enough to kiss the outside edge of the former Kiwi captain.

Read Also | India vs Pakistan in ICC tournament results

Haris Rauf then hit the hard length to induce a pull shot from Daryl Mitchell who went after adding 10 off 24 and New Zealand looked in trouble at 73/3 after 16.2 overs. 

But, Will Young made sure he grabbed this opportunity to score big alongside Tom Latham to bail out New Zealand. Young scored his first ton in Pakistan in 107 balls, which also was his first away international hundred. In the next over, Tom Latham also reached his fifty from 61 balls, to set up a platform to hit the fifth gear. 

But, as Young looked to shift up the gears, he was caught in the deep square leg by substitute fielder Ashraf off Naseem Shah on 107. At 191/4 in 38 overs, it was perfect timing for someone like Glenn Philips to come in for New Zealand.

Latham hit his first ODI ton since Nov. 2022

Latham started changing the tempo as well as he hit 14 off the last four balls from Abrar to spoil his spell. Abrar finished with 47/1 in his 10 overs. He southpaw batter then hit his first ODI ton since November 2022. He reached the landmark in 95 balls to become the fifth Kiwi batter to hit a ton in the Champions Trophy. 

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 📑

Today, Will Young and Tom Latham became only the 4th and 5th New Zealand 🇳🇿 batters respectively to score a Champions Trophy ton! 💯#ChampionsTrophy2025 #PAKvsNZ pic.twitter.com/fzaiss364c

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) February 19, 2025

Glenn Philips hits a devastating 61 from 39 balls

Pakistan were forced to have only four fielders outside the ring in the last overs, as opposed to the normal five after being penalised for the slow over rate. Glenn Philips and Latham took advantage of that to reach 320 in the first inning. Latham remained unbeaten on 118 from 104 while Philips was dismissed in the third last ball of the inning after a devastating 61 off 39 balls. 

New Zealand scored 113 from the last ten overs to challenge Pakistan with a total which looked impossible at first.

Horrible start for Pakistan with the bat

Pakistan started horribly after losing two early wickets. Will O’Rourke showed patience to dismiss Saud Shakeel on 6 from 19 in the fourth over. Glenn Philips then pulled off a stunner at backward point to get Pakistan’s second after a fighting 3 from 14 from captain Mohammad Rizwan. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fakhar Zaman, who could not bat at his favourite opening position due to staying off-field, tried his best with pain and suffering. Zaman fought hard to score 24 but off 41 balls. 

Though Babar took his time from the start, Salman Agha assessed the situation well to hit some boundaries to increase the run rate. Meantime, Babar completed his fifty in 81 balls while Agha got dismissed with a short ba by Nathan Smith after playing a brisk 42 off 28 balls. 

Tayyab Tahir (1) came in and was deceived by Mitchell Santner soon. With the asking rate creeping up, Khushdil Shah started smacking the Kiwi spinners and taking the game to them. 

Babar tried to do the same but only managed to get a top edge against Santner while trying a sweep after a slow 90-ball 64. 

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐳𝐚𝐦'𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠? 🤔

Babar Azam scored a 90-ball 64 in a game where Pakistan are chasing 321.

The Pakistani opener had a strike-rate of 71.11! #PakvsNz #BabarAzam #PakistanCricket #ChampionsTrophy2025 #ChampionsTrophy pic.twitter.com/7JUYdNknuJ

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) February 19, 2025

Fightback from Khushil Shah

Khushdil completed his fifty in 38 balls but kept losing partners from the other end. After he was dismissed in the 44th over after a fighting 69 from 49 balls, Pakistan were nearly out of the game.

Pakistani tail tried to swing their bats but was finally all-out for 260 and lost the game by 60 runs. With this win, New Zealand achieved a +1.200 NRR, which can be very essential in a tournament like this.

Santner and O’Rourke returned with three wickets for New Zealand. 

Tom Latham was adjudged player of the match for his century.

Match Summary

𝐍𝐙 🇳🇿 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧 🇵🇰

Pakistan were bundled out for 260 while chasing 321 in the second inning. #PakvsNz #ChampionsTrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/p4B45lMBvh

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) February 19, 2025