What did Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan say following their defeat versus New Zealand in the 1st ODI
After the defeat in the Champions Trophy, Pakistan's captain Mohammad Rizwan was not made a part of the T20 team. He also spent this free time by doing his Haj pilgrimage and playing club Cricket. But with changing days, his and the team's fortunes did not change. He made a comeback in the One Day International series for the first time since the conclusion of the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025. But he again faced defeat in the first match.
In the first ODI of the three-match series played at McLean Park, New Zealand again defeated them by 73 runs. This is Pakistan's fourth consecutive defeat against the Kiwi team, first in the Tri Nation Series and then in the Champions Trophy. Mohammad Rizwan expressed his views after the disappointing defeat.
In the post-match press conference, he said about the team's performance, "The way we started the second innings, we played with good intentions and did the necessary things to chase the target. We were close, but as the pressure increased, the course of the match changed in those crucial three to four overs."
Praising the initial performance of the bowlers, Rizwan said, "Our bowlers were brilliant in the beginning. They adapted themselves to the conditions of New Zealand and bowled brilliantly. The decision to bowl first was right. However, Chapman played brilliantly, which helped New Zealand score a competitive score. We need to improve further in taking advantage of important opportunities."
Describing the experience of the new players as positive, he said, "The inclusion of three new players today was very good for their development. Playing in the challenging conditions of New Zealand is a valuable experience." Despite the defeat, he expressed hope for the upcoming matches. "The outcome wasn't what we were hoping for, but we still have two more chances," Rizwan stated. "We'll reorganize and return more powerful".
If we look at the condition of this match, despite the best efforts of Babar Azam and Salman Ali Agha, Pakistan lost by 73 runs. Chasing the target of 345 runs, Usman Khan (39) and Abdullah Shafiq (36) gave a strong start by sharing 83 runs. Babar (78) and Rizwan (30), who returned to the ODI team, tried to handle the innings, but Pakistan's innings faltered as soon as Babar was out in the 39th over.
Apart from Salman Ali Agha (58), no other batsman could survive and the team was reduced to 271 runs in 44.1 overs. Nathan Smith bowled brilliantly for New Zealand with figures of 4/60.
Earlier, Akif Javed's lethal bowling had reduced New Zealand to 50/3, but Chapman (132) and Mitchell's (76) 199-run partnership turned the match around. Both of them made a record partnership. After this, Mohammad Abbas finally scored 50 runs in 24 balls and took the team to 344/9. For Pakistan, Irfan Khan took 3 wickets, while Haris Rauf and Akif Javed took 2-2 wickets each.