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Zaman had the home team worrying early on as he sustained a lower-back injury while chasing down a boundary. However, the Pakistani batter managed to come back onto the field in the 34th over of play alleviating concerns over his condition and ability to take…Read More
Fakhar Zaman. (X)
Pakistan got the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 underway with their curtain-raiser against New Zealand at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Wednesday as they host their first ICC event in nearly thirty years.
Pakistan star batter Fakhar Zaman, however, had the home team worrying early on as he sustained a lower-back injury while chasing down a boundary after Kiwi batter Will Young produced a cover drive off Shaheen Shah Afridi in the second delivery of the game.
Zaman conveyed the discomfort he was experiencing to teammate Babar Azam before being taken off the field for medical attention as Khamran Ghulam came on to replace the injured fielder.
However, Zaman managed to come back onto the field in the 34th over of play alleviating concerns over his condition and ability to take part in the game.
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Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan opted to put the Kiwis to bat first after winning the coin toss, and pacer Abrar Ahmed got rid of dangerous New Zealand opener Devon Conway for 10 runs in the 8th over of the game.
Naseem Shah doubled the hosts’ delight as he removed star Kiwi batter Kane Williamson for just a single run shortly after. Daryl Mitchell was next to fall as Haris Rauf scalped him for 10 runs off 24 deliveries.
Will Young, however, managed to stand strong to bring up his century to make the scoreboard tick with his 107 run knock off 113 deliveries, which included 13 fours and a six.
Another New Zealand batter reached the triple-figure milestone as Tom Latham also added a ton of his own to propel the score of the Kiwis.
