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

Cricket has always been a bridge across cultures, a phenomenon that connects players with fans from all around the world. Situations often force people to migrate from one country to the other. There have been instances when cricketers were born in different nations but ultimately played for a different country.

Let's take a look at the cricket facts of cricketers who didn't play for their country.

Also Read: "Wear whites for Virat": RCB fans in Bengaluru to wear white for Virat Kohli Test tribute

Cricket Facts | Cricketers who didn't play for their country

5. Glenn Phillips (South Africa-born)

New Zealand cricket all-rounder Glenn Philips moved from East London, South Africa to New Zealand at the age of five. He pursued his education in New Zealand, where he began his cricket journey. Having made his domestic debut with Auckland, he signed with Otago to play alongside his brother, Dale Phillips, in 2022. Interestingly, he made his international debut against South Africa, the country where he was born.

4. Ish Sodhi (India-born)

Inderbir Singh 'Ish' Sodhi was born in Ludhiana, India, on October 31, 1992, and spent his early years in New Zealand. He made his New Zealand debut as a leg-spinner in 2013, and since then, he has been a reliable performer in limited-overs forms, contributing significantly to the country's T20 World Cup campaigns.

3. Devon Conway (South Africa-born)

After playing for Gauteng and the Highveld Lions, Devon Conway moved to New Zealand in 2017 and made an immediate impact. He was the leading run-scorer in both the 2018-19 Plunket Shield (659) and 2018-19 Super Smash (363). Conway became eligible to play for New Zealand in August 2020 and has since become a key player for them across all formats. He averages 36.72 after 27 Tests and has also made 36 ODI and 50 T20I appearances.

2. Marnus Labuschagne (South Africa-born)

Marnus Labuschagne was born in Klerksdorp, in South Africa. His family moved to Australia when he was 10. Labuschagne made his Australia debut in Tests in 2018, after Steve Smith suffered an injury during the Ashes tour. Since then the prolific batter has emulated the batting prowess of his best friend and has not looked back. 

Speaking of his impressive international cricket career for Australia, Marnus Labuschagne has played 57 Tests, scoring 4396 runs with 11 centuries, and played 63 ODIs, scoring 1869 runs with two centuries. He has also played one T20I match.

Also Read: Fav four in Test cricket: Kohli vs Root vs Williamson vs Smith stats in Tests

1. Ben Stokes (New Zealand-born)

Ben Stokes was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in June 1991. His family moved to Cumbria when Stokes was 12 years old after his father was appointed head coach at Workington Town Rugby League Club.

Stokes has played for England in all three formats. Stokes is regarded as one of England's greatest all-rounders in the history of the sport. In domestic cricket, he represents Durham and has played in multiple Twenty20 leagues around the world. He was part of the England team that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup.

As IPL 2025 faced disruptions and was suspended on 9th May, 2025, most of the overseas players returned back to their respective home countries.

The tournament is set to resume from 17th May, 2025, and it raises a crucial question about how many overseas players can rejoin their franchises.

Given their international commitments and other issues, check out the overseas players who might not come for the remainder of the tournament in IPL 2025 for each team.

IPL 2025 Points Table

Firstly, see where each team stands before the tournament resumes.

Read Also: Top 5 underrated players in IPL 2025

Overseas players return status for the remainder of IPL 2025

Cricket, a sport loved by millions around the world, has witnessed the rise of several legendary players. In the modern era, four exceptional batsmen have stood out with their consistent brilliance, earning them the title of the “Fab Four players.” Their performances are often compared under the widely discussed Fab four Stats.

These iconic cricketers – Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith have set new benchmarks for batting excellence across formats. 

Virat Kohli recently announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier today (May 12) with a post on his official Instagram handle. He ended his 14-year illustrious career in the format.

In this article, we will take a closer look at their remarkable careers, comparing their updated statistics and achievements to understand what makes them the finest batsmen of the modern era in Test cricket. 

Also Read: Fav four in cricket: Kohli vs Root vs Williamson vs Smith overall stats

So, let's take a look at the statistics of the Fav Four in Test cricket.

Fav four in Test cricket | Kohli vs Root vs Williamson vs Smith

Test cricket, often considered the ultimate test of a player’s skill and temperament, has seen these four players shine brightly. Here’s how they stack up in the longest format.

Virat Kohli's peak in Test cricket arrived well before the likes of Joe Root and Kane Williamson. Steve Smith matched him toe to toe during that period, but the 12-month ban due to the sandpaper gate overshadowed his brilliance in the format. 

However, when we compare the numbers of Fab four in 2025, Kohli has fallen way behind his contemporaries. Root is at the peak of his powers in Test cricket in the last five years while Williamson has never really been out of form in the whites.

Smith has been on and off over the last couple of years, but his form has never been a concern for Australia in Tests. When it comes to runs, averages and centuries, Kohli ranks last among Fab four and a lot of it has to do with his downfall in the format since November 2019.

Also Read: Sachin vs Kohli: Stats Comparison in Test Cricket

Here is a comparison of Fav four in Test cricket.

Fav four in Test cricket | How Kohli finished in Tests compared to Fab four

It is certain that Virat Kohli, who was once untouchable in the debate of Fab Four, will remain at the bottom forever when compared to his contemporaries. Only if his form hadn't dropped after November 2019, the 36-year-old, today, has stepped down from the format with some unreal numbers.

If anyone has followed cricket casually over the last decade, they're likely familiar with four key names: former Indian captain Virat Kohli, batting genius Steve Smith, English great Joe Root, and New Zealand's all-time leading run-scorer Kane Williamson.

They together are known as the 'Fab Four' in the modern era of cricket.

Each of them has set new benchmarks for performance, continually pushing one another to enhance their skills. These four batsmen have not only dominated the world of cricket but have also met the expectations of their respective nations.

In this article, we will examine the statistics of the Fab Four across all formats.

Fav Four in cricket: How many runs & centuries have they scored in International Cricket?

Virat Kohli has been the most prolific all-format batter among the fav-four. Kohli, till now in his 550 international games, has scored 27,599 runs with an outstanding average of 52.27. His record of 82 international centuries is only second to Sachin Tendulkar's 100 international centuries.

Read Also | Most ICC Trophies by any men's team

Joe Root comes in second among them with 20,724 runs so far for England across formats. However, undoubtedly, he has been the best test batter of his generation with 12972 test runs, which sets him as the highest test run scorer for England. Root has also scored 53 international hundreds, of which 36 came in tests only.

Read Also | Winners list of last 10 ICC Tournaments (men's)

Kane Williamson, New Zealand's highest runscorer in international cricket, comes at number three in terms of international runs among the fav four. The former Kiwi leader has scored 19,086 runs so far in his career at an average of 48.56. Kane is now only two short of reaching 50 international hundreds. 

Read Also | Most Test runs in 2024: Root, Jaiswal, Duckett and more

Aussie great Steven Smith comes at four with 17,165 runs at an average of 47.81. A late bloomer with the bat, Smith has been outstanding for Australia in tests and ODIs. Along with Root, Smith has also been one of the greatest test batters of this generation.

Here is a comparison of international stats of the fav four. 

Read Also: Most Wickets in Test Cricket

Fab Four in Cricket: Stats across different formats

Virat Kohli (IND)

Joe Root (ENG)

Kane Williamson (NZ)

Steven Smith (AUS)

Note: The article was initially written by Abishek Goswami and then got updated by Koushik Biswas

Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the five-time IPL Champions known for their consistency and tactical moves which usually leads them to success, find themselves in an unfamiliar position this season. CSK is at the bottom of the points table with just 2 wins out of their 9 matches, marking their worst IPL season till date. 

The main reasons of CSK’s struggles in IPL 2025 are a combination of poor auction strategy, some important players getting injured, very weak & out of form batting line-up, horrible fielding performances, and being unable to find a proper & effective playing 11 combination despite playing half of their matches in IPL 2025.

Also Read: Impactful Overseas players in IPL 2025

(1) Poor Auction Strategy

From the Auction Table only, CSK’s management started making mistakes by failing to grab impactful players who could fill the gaps in their squad.

Instead of investing in young and in-form players, the management made some confusing choices by buying mediocre players with poor form like Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, and Vijay Shankar, especially with a few key players nearing the end of their careers like Ravichandran Ashwin. 

Former CSK great, also known as “Mr. IPL”, Suresh Raina has publicly criticised CSK’s poor auction strategy by pointing out the missed opportunities to buy match-winning players like KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Faf Du Plessis, etc., due to a lack of funds. 

While other franchises focused on acquiring young and dynamic talent, CSK appeared to rely heavily on their tried-and-tested players like Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Sam Curran, etc., who are unable to perform in crucial situations for CSK in IPL 2025. 

CSK’s management overlooked many promising domestic and overseas players who have been performing nicely in other T20 leagues, which resulted in a poor out-of-form bunch of players.

Some auction picks like Noor Ahmad and Khaleel Ahmed were great buys for CSK in IPL 2025, as these 2 players are performing really well and clinching wickets on a regular basis.

Also Read: IPL 2025: Where's what each team need to do to qualify for the playoffs

(2) Batting Collapses in almost every match

CSK’s batting has been one of the weakest in this season. Their top-order batsmen like Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, and Ruturaj Gaikwad have failed to perform consistently, and batted with a very low strike-rate in power-play which leads the team one step backwards from the start of the game. 

The middle-order batsmen like Deepak Hooda, Shivam Dubey, and Vijay Shankar have failed to capitalize in the middle overs, and batted with a slow strike rate, and poor shot selection, which made most of their chases or first innings totals look below par. 

Even their reliable lower order batters or finishers like Ravindra Jadeja and Mahendra Singh Dhoni haven't been able to rescue them as they are also out of form and being overburdened with responsibility. So, the lack of a proper finisher is glaring. 

Also Read: Top 5 game-changing factors that could send MI to IPL 2025 Playoffs

Some young and new batters of CSK like Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, and Dewald Brewis who got a chance to play from the previous 2-3 matches have performed nicely and played exceptionally well and showed potential that they can be the future stars of CSK. 

After the recent loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad, MS Dhoni highlighted the problems because of which CSK is continuously losing matches this season.

His words were, “In a tournament like this, if there are one or two areas to plug in the holes, then it's good, but when a majority of the players are not doing well, then you need to make changes. You can’t just keep going. We are just not putting enough runs on the board”, while addressing the post-match presentation.

Also Read: Glenn Maxwell in IPL Since 2024

(3) Poor Fielding and Catch Drops at Crucial Moment

CSK’s fielding, which was a strength for them earlier, has been horrible this year. CSK has dropped 13-14 catches in IPL 2025 till now which is most by any team this season and after these catch drops of important players at crucial moments, all those players scored a good number of runs and lead their respective teams to a very good total or chased the runs made by CSK. 

In a highly competitive league like the IPL, every run saved with a good fielding effort makes a difference and creates pressure on the opposition, but CSK has failed to do this in this IPL season, which is one of the reasons for CSK’s struggles in IPL 2025. 

MS Dhoni’s wicket-keeping skills is the only thing which deserves appreciation when CSK is fielding. At the age of 43, Dhoni’s wicket-keeping is still lethal with lightning-fast stumping and very smooth ball receiving technique. 

CSK’s bowling has also been very outstanding this season. Bowlers of CSK, like Khaleel Ahmed and Noor Ahmad, have taken crucial wickets continuously. They have been able to create chances with their effective bowling, but the fielders were not able to grab those chances and take advantage of them.

Also Read: IPL Facts: Lowest Total Defended in IPL

(4) Important Players Getting Injured

Ruturaj Gaikwad, the Captain of CSK, got injured and was ruled out of this IPL, which made the CSK batting line-up very weak and inexperienced. Devon Conway has to return to New Zealand because his father passed away. 

After Gaikwad’s exclusion from the playing 11 because of an unfortunate injury, MS Dhoni has again become the Captain of CSK and Ayush Mhatre has been signed by the CSK management as a replacement for Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Also Read: IPL 2025, CSK vs KKR: CSK's five lowest totals in IPL history

(5) Where will the CSK team go from here?

After losing 7 out of 9 matches, and with 5 games left, only CSK’s qualifying chances for IPL 2025 Play-offs are practically gone. Even MS Dhoni seems to be looking ahead to next season, as after their recent loss to Mumbai Indians, Dhoni highlighted the importance of getting a secured playing XI for the next year, while addressing the post-match presentation.

As the season progresses, one thing is clear: CSK's struggles in IPL 2025 serve as a reminder that even the most successful teams need to evolve and adapt to the current playing style to stay competitive. 

If CSK wants to bounce back next season, they need figure out what went wrong in 2025 and correct those things as soon as possible. The auction errors, poor on-field execution, poor display of batting & fielding, and over-reliance on aging players have all contributed to a season they’ll want to forget. 

The Chennai Super Kings have built a legacy over the years. But this year, that legacy has taken a hit and only a superb comeback in the next season of IPL can earn them their respect again which CSK deserves, and as we all know that CSK is also known as the Comeback Super Kings so every CSK fan will pray for their team’s strong comeback in the next season of IPL.