Defending champions Multan Sultans booked a place in the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 when they defeated Lahore Qalandars by 28 runs in front of a full and enthusiastic Gaddafi Stadium crowd on Wednesday night.

Put into bat, Rilee Rossouw and Mohammad Rizwan stroked unbeaten half-centuries to help Multan Sultans collect 163 for two in 20 overs. Meanwhile, they were on 65 for two wickets at the halfway stage.

Also Read: PSL 2022: Haris Rauf slaps teammate

Lahore Qalandars started off the chase nicely. They were at 102/3 in the 14th over before they suffered a collapse. However, after then they ultimately finished at 135/9 in their 20 overs. While Sultans qualified for Sunday's final, Lahore Qalandars have another opportunity to reach their second title match. They will play the winner of Peshawar Zalmi-Islamabad United on Friday (February 25).

Rossouw struck seven fours and a six in his 42-ball 65*. Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan scored a 51-ball 53* with three fours. Rizwan added 47 runs for the second wicket with Aamer Azmat (33). After that, he put on 113 runs for the unfinished third wicket with Rossouw. For Lahore Qalandars, Mohammad Hafeez and Samit Patel took a wicket each.

In turn, Lahore Qalandars lost their way following the departure of Harry Brook (13). Meanwhile, they lost six wickets for 33 in just six overs to finish at 135/9.

Read Also: PSL 2022: "According to me, James Faulkner should have been taken into two-day custody", says Salman Butt

Shahnawaz Dhani was the Star with the ball

Fakhar Zaman scored an entertaining 63 off 45 balls with two fours and four sixes, including three successive sixes off Imran Tahir. He added 54 runs for the fourth wicket with Harry Brook.

Shahnawaz Dahani was the star for Multan Sultans with the ball. He grabbed the crucial wickets of Brook (13), Phil Salt (1), and Shaheen Shah Afridi (1) to finish with figures 4-0-19-3.

Brief Scores:

Multan Sultans: 163/2
(Rilee Rossouw 65*, Mohammad Rizwan 53*; Mohammad Hafeez 1-16)
Lahore Qalandars: 135/9
(Fakhar Zaman 63, Kamran Ghulam 20; Shahnawaz Dahani 3-19)

Multan Sultans won by 28 runs.

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.

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

Pakistan will be hosting an ICC event for the first time since 1996 and they will face a strong New Zealand in the opening game of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. From head-to-head stats, possible lineups and fantasy team predictions, get everything on the Pakistan vs New Zealand Champions Trophy 2024-25 match on our match preview.

Match Details

Match:  Pakistan vs New Zealand

Tournament: ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Match No. 1

Date: 19 February 2025

Time: 2.30 pm IST

Venue: National Stadium, Karachi

How to watch the match?

Cricket fans from India can watch the opening game of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 live on Star Sports TV Channel in multiple languages. Moreover, they can stream the match live on JioHotstar App and Website with a paid subscription.

Pakistan vs New Zealand Head-to-head in ODIs

Pakistan and New Zealand have faced each other 118 times in One-day international games. Pakistan have won in 63 while New Zealand have emerged victorious on 53 occasions. Three games saw no results.

Pitch Report: National Stadium, Karachi

Talking about the pitch at the National Stadium in Karachi, we can certainly guarantee you that there will be runs on offer for the batters. The bowlers, especially the fast bowlers will have to be dead accurate on most occasions to take wickets or be safe.

In the recent tri-series, South Africa posted 352 but Pakistan chased it down with Mohammed Rizwan scoring a ton.

The spinners, on the other hand, have gone for fewer runs of 5.11 runs per over but have taken less wickets as well.

So, we can guess there will be a huge task for the bowlers to get it right at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Team News and Recent Form: Pakistan

The hosts Pakistan are coming off a tri-series against the South African and New Zealand teams, where they lost in the final against the Kiwis in Karachi. The form of their star batter Babar Azam would worry them a bit but Pakistan have always found their ways to do better in ICC events.

In the last two games between these two sides in an ICC event, Pakistan have defeated New Zealand two out of two times.

In the last five ODIs, Pakistan have won three and lost twice. So, you can not say that they are in great form as well.

However, they will be boosted with the presence of fast bowler Haris Rauf, who did not take any part in the tri-series after getting a side strain in the opening game against New Zealand. He was seen bowling in the nets and as per captain Mohammad Rizwan, he would be fit to feature in the opening game. 

Read Also | India vs Pakistan in ICC tournament results

Team News and Recent Form: New Zealand

No team had played more ODI games in Pakistan than New Zealand since the start of 2019. Not only that just five days before the start of ICC Champions Trophy 2025, they defeated Pakistan in the final to lift the series as well which was played which was played in Karachi.

The combination of Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell has been solid for New Zealand in the middle overs. Both spinners have found a way to keep the run flow intact and also take wickets given the opportunities. Moreover, they both can bat as well, which is always an added advantage.

However, the Kiwis will be without their premier fast bowlers Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears along with uncertainty hovering over Rachin Ravindra's presence after getting hit in the eye in the tri-series.

Will Young might open with Devon Conway if Ravindra is not fit enough to play. Kyle Jamieson, the replacement of Lockei Ferguson will also not be available as he is yet to reach Karachi for the match. 

Read Also | Champions Trophy 2025: Squads of every team

Possible Lineups

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (capt & wk), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.

New Zealand: Rachin Ravindra/Will Young, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (capt), Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Will O'Rourke.

Fantasy team prediction: Pakistan vs New Zealand

Fakhar Zaman, Devon Conway, Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, Mohammad Rizwan, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf.

Teams of 7 countries have announced their squads for the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025. ICC had demanded squads from all the teams by January 12 only.

India has recently announced their squad in which Rohit Sharma will command the team and Shubman Gill will do the vice captaincy.

Also Read: ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 schedule announced

Champion Trophy 2025: Groups

A total of 8 teams are participating in the Champions Trophy 2025. The teams are divided into 2 groups.

India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh have been placed in Group A. Whereas Australia, England, South Africa and Afghanistan have been kept in Group B.

Group A

• India
• Bangladesh
• New Zealand
• Pakistan

Group B

• Afghanistan
• England
• Australia
• South Africa

Champions Trophy 2025: Squads

Group A

India:

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.

Also Read: Champions Trophy 2025 India squad

Bangladesh:

Nazmul Hossain Shanto (c), Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, MD Mahmud Ullah, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossai Emon, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana

New Zealand:

Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young

Pakistan:

Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Group B

Afghanistan:

Happy with our 15-member #AfghanAtalan lineup for the ICC Champions Trophy!? 🤩🏆#ChampionsTrophy 🔗: https://t.co/uZfvLZ8U8D pic.twitter.com/7bmUJuzHFb

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) January 12, 2025

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Farid Malik, Naveed Zadran

Reserves:

Darwish Rasooli, Nangyal Kharoti, Bilal Sami

England:

Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.

Australia:

Pat Cummins (c), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

South Africa:

Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen.

Read Also |  ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 schedule announced

Champion Trophy 2025: Schedule 

The 2025 ICC Champions Trophy kicks off on February 19, with host Pakistan facing New Zealand in Karachi.

In an important development ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Team India captain Rohit Sharma may not attend the pre-tournament photoshoot and press conference in Pakistan. 

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that Rohit Sharma will not travel to Pakistan for the opening ceremony of the event.

Also Read: Champions Trophy 2025: Squads of every team

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is scheduled to be held from 19 February 2025 to 9 March 2025 in Pakistan and UAE. 

Pakistan's matches will be held in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, while India will play all their matches in Dubai, including the final if they qualify. 

India and Pakistan will face each other on 23 February 2025 in Dubai.

India refused to attend the ceremony 

The host country usually organizes an important event with the captains of all the participating teams. 

It includes a photoshoot and press conference, where the captains share their thoughts on the upcoming competition.

All eight captains, including Rohit Sharma, were expected to attend the event for the Champions Trophy 2025.

According to a report, the BCCI revealed that the board has asked the ICC to shift these events from Pakistan to Dubai, which are scheduled to take place just before the start of the tournament.

"ICC has already accommodated India's request to not schedule its CT matches in Pakistan, so these are minor issues." a source told The Times of India on Tuesday.

BCCI instructed not to wear jerseys with Pakistan's name

BCCI has also instructed its players not to wear jerseys with Pakistan's name on them. The PCB is unhappy with the BCCI's action and is seeking intervention from the ICC.

Expressing concern, a PCB official accused the BCCI of bringing politics into cricket and said that the ICC will not allow it.

'BCCI is bringing politics into cricket'

A PCB official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IANS, "BCCI is bringing politics into cricket, which is not at all good for the game. They refused to travel Pakistan. They don't want to send their captain for the opening ceremony, now there are reports that they don't want host nation (Pakistan) name printed on their jersey. We believe that the world governing body (ICC) will not let this happen and support Pakistan."

Also Read: India vs England 1st T20I Match Preview, Head-to-head, Possible Lineups

What's the rule says

As per the rules, India not wearing the official logo of the hosts, in this case Pakistan, will be a breach of ICC's official clothing code.

The name of the host nation is usually included under the logo of the tournament on the players' jerseys, as is custom.

In previous events where India was host nation, Pakistan had carried India's name on it, including the 2016 T20 World Cup and 2023 ODI World Cup.

They have also done so during the 2021 World Cup despite it being shifted to UAE due to Covid-19 restrictions.