Champions Trophy 2025: Pakistan's CT Campaign Likely To End On Day One? Unwanted Stats Predict Md. Rizwan-Led Team's Debacle

Champions Trophy 2025: Mohammad Rizwan's Pakistan is all set to lock horns with Mitchell Santner-led New Zealand in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy . The Champions Trophy is returning after a span of over seven years with Pakistan as the defending champions of the coveted silverware. The match will be played at the National Stadium in Karachi. Both the teams had recently locked horns in the tri-nation series final which Pakistan lost.

India, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Pakistan are all placed in the same group and only two out of the four can go to the next round. Pakistan's next match after the New Zealand game will be against arch-rivals India which is scheduled to be played in Dubai. New Zealand on the other hand will bank on the familiarity that they have with the Pakistani conditions at their disposal. But how prepared is the unpredictable Pakistan team? Let's try and answer the burning question with numbers and stats.

Pakistan's Unwanted Champions Trophy Record Against New Zealand

Despite Pakistan Cricket Board's tall claims, Mohammad Rizwan's team might have a bad start to their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign. Pakistan recently played two ODIs against Mitchell Santner's New Zealand and they ended up losing both. New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 78 runs in the first ODI and later beat them by 5 wickets to win the summit clash.

If Pakistan end up losing the Champions Trophy opener to New Zealand, they'll be at the risk of being eliminated. A total of eight teams are playing the Champions Trophy and they have been divided into two groups. If Pakistan lose the first match against New Zealand then they'll be in a do-or-die situation for the remaining two matches. Prior to this Pakistan have played New Zealand three times in Champions Trophy (2000, 2006 and 2009) and they have ended up losing all three.

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Pakistan's Game Against India To be Played In Dubai

The much-awaited India vs Pakistan game will be played on February 23, 2025 in the Dubai International Stadium. The last time India played Pakistan in an ODI game was during the 2023 ODI World Cup. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team had easily defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets in the game that was played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

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