PAK vs NZ | Latham-Young tons see Kiwis triumph against soulless Pakistan chase in 60-run win

Asked to bat first, New Zealand openers Will Young and Devon Conway negotiated a hint of early swing from Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi to tick along the scoreboard at a comfortable rate alongwith the occassional boundary. Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan responded by bringing Abrar Ahmed into the attack in just the sixth over and the spinner took just nine balls to slide one past Conway's bat into the stumps. Naseem made it a double whammy four deliveries later by nicking off Kane Williamson and the visitors found themselves at 48/2 at the end of the powerplay. The first six of the tournament arrived in the 13th over when Young stood tall in his crease to dispatch a Haris Rauf bouncer but Daryl Mitchell was unable to replicate the feat at the other end as he top-edged for a simple catch after a strugglesome 24-ball stay. With three wickets thus gone for 73 runs, Tom Latham joined half-centurion Young in playing a brand of risk-free cricket, relying on singles and the sporadic boundary to keep things ticking. The latter, after a few minutes in the nervous ninetines, brought up his 106-ball ton with a sweep as the partnership crossed the three figure mark too, with Latham bringing up his fifty in the ensuing over. Albeit Young departed soon after in an attempt to accelarate, the stage was set at 207/4 with 10 overs remaining. Glenn Phillips needed no second invite as he began his assault with a six off Khushdil Shah in the 43rd over and Latham got inspired to take down Abrar for 16 runs in the ensuing over. It was only the beginning of the devastation, as the final six overs cost a further 80 runs. Latham brought up a 95-ball ton in the process while Phillips landed a 34-ball fifty and the team ended on a daunting 320/5.

In response, Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel walked out for the chase, the latter promoted in place of Fakhar Zaman who was off the field for the majority of the Kiwi innings after sustaining an injury while fielding on the second ball of the match. Sharp now ball spells up tom from Matt Henry and Will O'Rourke allowed only five runs in three overs and Shakeel was the first to buckle as he flayed at a wide delivery from the latter and edged one straight to third man. Rizwan came out at three but only slowed down momentum further and eventually succumbed to a one-handed Phillips stunner on the last ball of the powerplay with the scorecard reading 22/2. It was finally time for Fakhar to bat, but with a limp and without the usual flair, culminating in a disappointing 41-ball stay for just 24 runs before succumbing to Michael Bracewell. Along with fellow spinners Mitchell Santner and Phillips, the trio had kept Pakistan to just 69/3 after 21 overs, with Babar showing little intent to keep the required rate in check. Salman Agha tried to turn things around with a quickfire 42 but once him and Tayyab Tahir fell in the space of four deliveries, 191 runs from 18 overs looked near impossible. Babar's endurance ended soon after too to make the task seem even more egrogious and despite a consolatory 69 off just 49 deliveries from Khushdil Shah, featuring 10 boundaries and a maximum, followed by a few lusty blows from Rauf and Shah, the Kiwis sealed the victory comfortably by 60 runs. 

60 runs defeat to Pakistan by New Zealand

— Asmatullah Niazi (@AsmatullahNiazi) 

Who will win?

NZ has defeated Pakistan thrice in the span of 10 days��

— Vaibhav Hatwal ◟̽◞̽ 🤧 (@vaibhav_hatwal) 

Pathetic

New Zealand start with a big win against Pakistan in the opening match of the Champions Trophy.

— Amit Paranjape (@aparanjape) 

Fantastic

Pakistan loses the first game of the Champions Trophy to New Zealand by 60 runs. 

— junaiz (@dhillow_)