Pakistan’s mistakes in the Tri-Series final vs New Zealand, from refusing DRS to crucial drops, cost them the title. A breakdown of key errors.
New Delhi: Pakistan suffered a heavy dent just before they kickstart their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign at home, as they lost the final of the tri-series against New Zealand, just days after pulling out their highest-ever ODI chase against South Africa. Tom Latham was the one of the stars for the Kiwis in their win with a half-century. However, the home side has the chance to dismiss the New Zealand batter much earlier and get a win. However, they missed two golden opportunities in two consecutive overs.
During an over from off-spinner Abrar Ahmed, Tom Latham was struck in his pads right in front of the stumps. The bowler appealed whole heartedly but the umpire did not budge. The Pakistan team led by Mohammad Rizwan then refused to take DRS. Replays showed that the New Zealand batter was out LBW. In the very next over, when Latham was dropped by Shaheen Afridi on 15 off his own bowling.
Fancode, who was the official broadcaster of the match, also took a dig at Pakistan posting the series of event. “Pakistan never fail to entertain,” they captioned the video.
New Zealand Win By 5 Wickets
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first in the final of the tri-series at National Stadium in Karachi. The kiwi bowlers were all over the Pakistan batters in the first innings as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha showed some resistance in the middle order with scores of 46 and 45 respectively. Tayyab Tahir chipped in with 38 from 33 balls. The home side were bundled out for 242 runs, with William O Rourke being the pick of the bowlers with 4 wickets. Mitchel Santner and Bracewell bowled a tight spell in middle and didn’t allowed Pakistani batter to move along, results in chocking and giving away their wickets.
Pakistan never fail to entertain! 😅
How costly will this prove to be?#TriNationSeriesOnFanCode | #PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/4HuCsEhUm6
— FanCode (@FanCode) February 14, 2025
New Zealand did not stutter during their chase. Daryll Mitchell and Tom Latham scored half-centuries each, while Devon Conway scored 48, as the visitors chased down the target with five wickets and 28 balls to spare.
