Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan speaks within the post-match convention after the defeat within the second ODI towards New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton on April 2, 2025. — Screengrab by way of Geo Information
Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan supplied his reflections after the workforce’s 84-run loss to New Zealand within the second ODI of the three-match collection at Seddon Park on Wednesday.
Within the post-match presentation, Rizwan acknowledged the challenges his workforce confronted, saying: “It’s sore, nevertheless it’s a part of the sport. We didn’t do nicely immediately. We didn’t utilise the swing successfully, and New Zealand bowled very nicely.”
“In a while, Faheem and Naseem fought nicely for us. These are difficult situations, however we are able to’t make excuses. We’re skilled cricketers, and we have to do one thing completely different,” he added.
He additionally praised New Zealand’s disciplined bowling assault.
“The bowlers of New Zealand were very disciplined; they bowled the hard lengths. In the last couple of months, we’ve lost key moments. Today, we didn’t perform well with the ball or the bat in the first 10 overs. Credit to Mitch Hay as well; the way he batted was amazing,” Rizwan stated. “We don’t know much about the pitch in Tauranga, but we’ll have to adapt.”
Chasing a difficult goal of 293, Pakistan’s pursuit received off to a disastrous begin as the highest order collapsed beneath strain from New Zealand’s bowlers.
Abdullah Shafique (1 off 11) was dismissed early by O’Rourke, adopted by Imam-ul-Haq (3 off 12) and Babar Azam (1 off 3), who each fell cheaply to Jacob Duffy’s correct bowling.
With three fast wickets down, Pakistan’s place regarded precarious. Issues worsened when Mohammad Rizwan (5 off 27) and Salman Agha (9 off 15) additionally fell with out making important contributions.
Tayyab Tahir (13 off 29) tried to stabilise the innings, however New Zealand’s relentless strain prevented Pakistan from gaining any momentum.
All-rounder Faheem Ashraf displayed outstanding resilience, scoring an excellent half-century. Nonetheless, as he continued to lose companions—Mohammad Wasim Jr. (1 off 2) and Akif Javed (8 off 7) have been dismissed by Ben Sears and Jacob Duffy—Pakistan discovered themselves struggling at 114-8 in 28.2 overs.
The scenario took a extra worrying flip when Haris Rauf suffered a concussion after being struck on the top, forcing him to depart the sector.
Naseem Shah got here in as his substitute, and the pair fashioned a vital 50-run partnership for the ninth wicket, bringing the rating to 165-8 in 36 overs.
Regardless of their finest efforts, Pakistan’s resistance got here to an finish when Ben Sears dismissed Faheem Ashraf (73 off 80), leaving the rating at 174-9.
Regardless of a valiant knock from Naseem Shah, who had earlier reached his maiden ODI fifty in simply 41 balls, Pakistan’s innings was wrapped up for 208 in 41.2 overs, with Naseem dismissed for 51.
Earlier within the match, New Zealand’s innings had been anchored by strong partnerships. Rhys Mariu and Nick Kelly placed on 50 runs earlier than Pakistan’s bowlers started making inroads.
Regardless of common wickets falling, Mitchell Hay’s late surge guided New Zealand to a aggressive complete of 292.
Within the first one-day worldwide match on March 29, Mark Chapman struck a chic century and Nathan Smith claimed 4 wickets as Black Caps eased to a 73-run win over Inexperienced Shirts.
Previous to the continued ODIs, New Zealand had secured a dominant 4-1 victory within the five-match T20I collection towards Pakistan.
