Pakistan crashed to a 60-run defeat against Recent Zealand of their opening game of Champions Trophy 2025. Chasing a stiff goal of 321, Pakistan were never really within the hunt, following a poor start that saw them manage only 22 of their first 10 overs. Pakistan stalwart Babar Azam couldn’t fire, and was particularly criticised for his slow strike rate. India batter Cheteshwar Pujara pinpointed exactly why Babar did not rating big, and criticised his approach through the run chase.
Pujara dissected exactly where Babar went unsuitable through the run chase.
“There was no intent. Babar’s footwork against the spinner was not good. He was not using his feet. He was not reaching for the ball. He was waiting for the ball to come back to him,” Pujara said, speaking on the post-match show of ‘Sports Central‘.
Babar took as many as 81 balls to notch up his half-century, and scored only 64 off 90 balls by the tip.
Pujara stated that Babar didn’t bat as freely as he could’ve, and can have been bogged down by pressure.
“It looks like there was a mental pressure on him. In ODI cricket, you’ll want to bat with freedom. He’s a natural stroke player. He must bat with more freedom. He must rotate strike and hit those odd boundaries. Nowadays, a strike rate of 70 and 80 will not be ok. You mustn’t play for your personal runs,” stated Pujara.
Pakistan are expected to be under pressure. In any case, it’s the primary time in nearly three a long time that the nation is hosting a serious ICC event, with the last time being the 1996 World Cup, which they co-hosted with India and Sri Lanka.
Babar’s cautious approach got here after Pakistan lost two wickets in the primary 10 overs, as makeshift opener Saud Shakeel and captain Mohammad Rizwan departed cheaply. Rizwan was dismissed after a surprising acrobatic one-handed catch at point by Recent Zealand’s Glenn Phillips.
Pakistan got a lift because of fiery knocks by Salman Ali Agha (42 off 28) and Khushdil Shah (69 off 49), however the two’s efforts weren’t enough.
Pakistan fell 60 runs short in the long run, meaning that their home Champions Trophy campaign got off to a difficult start. They now must travel to Dubai to tackle arch-rivals India on February 23, before coming back home to Rawalpindi for the ultimate group game against Bangladesh.
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