We live in a time when Odi is starving for attention, with the older sibling who commands immediate respect for his age and wisdom and the younger one bawling at full lung capacity if you dare look away while wagging around the room. For all this, the middle child never fails to remind us how captivating it can be when a global tournament comes along. The last two ODI world championships produced so many classics between them, and so many passages with games that showed the different skills that this format can both compress and give the breathing room.
Given how little we have seen of it in the last year and a half or so, our appetite on ODD must be at its peak, even though Champions Trophy remains an awkward fit in the calendar and interests of ICC’s member’s boards. So much has happened since Sarfaraz Ahmed lifted this trophy eight years ago, enough for everyone to forget that it even exists, but here we are now, and here it is again.
We have Pakistan, the defense champions and (co-ish) hosts, to start us, and they will face familiar enemies in the tournament opener. No visitor has played more ODDs in this country than New Zealand’s 11 since the beginning of 2019, and they begin this Champions Trophy just five days after beating Pakistan in the final in an Odi-Tri series. Karachi hosted that match and will also host this one.
It says something about the two teams that New Zealand and Pakistan ended up on the fourth and fifth -just inside and just outside the knockouts -on the league tables in both the World Cups in 2019 and 2023, and that Pakistan won the head -to -Head -meetings both times. It is talking about two teams with potentially title-winning strengths as well as title-squaring shortcomings, and this may make it the ideal competition to kick things out.
Form Guide
Pakistan Lwlww (last five ended ODDs, latest first) New Zealand Wwwlw
In the limelight
He’s gone 21 laps without an ode hundred, and although this would not be abnormal to most slaughterers, Babar Azam Aren’t most fighters. This sequence includes only two single -digit scores, so it’s not like he has fought, but few things will bring so much joy to Pakistan at the start of a global event at home as a big score from their until recreational -irreproacchable Run Machine . He is fighting at the top of the order now rather than # 3, so a score of significance will also facilitate any doubts that Pakistan may have about the structure of their line-up.
In the recently, Tri series ended New Zealand’s spinners with a total economy of 4.41, which was remarkable considering that their Pakistan and South Africa colleagues went 5.67 and 5.94 respectively. It speaks to the quality of Mitchell Santner and Michael BracewellFive wickets per Piece below the Tri-Series by almost identical average and economy. They form as enviable a spin combination like anyone in this tournament: a left-arm finger spinner and an offspinner, both extremely practical with bats.
Team news: Rauf Boost for Pakistan
Haris Rauf played no role in the recent ODI-TRI series after walking off the field with a side strain during the opening match against New Zealand. However, he has been bowling in the nets in the lead to Champions Trophy, and Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan was convinced he would be in shape to start the tournament opener. This should leave Pakistan able to choose a full strength XI.
Pakistan (Possible): 1 fakhar Zaman, 2 Babar Azam, 3 Saud Shakeel, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (Capt & WK), 5 Salman Agha, 6 Tayyab Tahir, 7 Khushdil Shah, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 7 Khushdil Shah, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar Ahmed.
New Zealand enters the Champions Trophy with two of their original fast -bowling selection – Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears – out of the tournament. There is also doubt as to whether Rachin Ravindra – who has not played a game since he was hit upside down at the ball while field during the first match of the Tri series – will be suitable to start but the opener has the opener beaten during training sessions in the construction of this tournament. Will Young will be opened with Devon Conway if New Zealand decides not to risk ravindra. Ferguson’s replacement Kyle Jamieson does not arrive at Karachi in time to be available for the first game.
New Zealand: 1 Rachin Ravindra/Will Young, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (WK), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Mitchell Santner (CAPT), 9 Matt Henry, 10 Jacob Duffy, 11 Will O’Rourke.
Pitch and relationship
Karachi hosted the last two matches in the recent TRI series and they ended up as extremely different competitions. On February 12, South Africa 352 published the highest ever obtained at the venue, but this record lasted only a few hours when Pakistan chased it down with an overs. Two days later, Will O’Rourke sacked four wickets, and the unhappy Santner took 2 for 20 in his ten overs when Pakistan, who chose to beat first in the final, was gathered to 242, in total that New Zealand was hunting with five wickets and 28 balls to spare.
What kind of surface does the National Stage earn up Wednesday? The latest story suggests that this is a test site for fast bowlers in ODDs as their overall average of 33.67 and economy speed of 6.02 during this decade would attest. However, where Lahore has tended to be just as tough for spinners, Karachi has given them a Modik of Breathing Room; While their wickets have arrived 45.50, they have only gone at 5.11 per day. Over.
When you go for recent trends, places in global tournaments have tended to be good batting surfaces with something for bowlers to work with: the last three ICC ODD events – 2017 Champions Trophy and the World Cups in 2019 and 2023 – finished with total races of 5.54, 5.59 and 5.82 respectively.
Wednesday is expected to be a hot day in Karachi with a high of 29 degrees Celsius and a little to no chance of rain.
Statistics and Trivia
New Zealand (2000) and Pakistan (2017) both beat India in the final as they won their respective Champions Trophy titles.
New Zealand has been exposed to Pakistan 11 times in ODIs since the beginning of 2023, and the results have been neck-and-neck. While New Zealand has won five and lost six, they have won three of the last four meetings.
Of the 47 New Zealand fighters to score 1000 ODD Runes, Daryl Mitchell has the best average (50.42). His strike frequency of 97.89 is also extremely impressive as all five fighters above him on the list average below 30.
Of the bowlers of the eight teams in this tournament, Shaheen Shah Afridi (21.00 at 22.04) is the highest wicket taker in ODIs since the end of the World Cup in 2023.
Babar, Fakhar Zaman and Faheem Ashraf are the only members of Pakistan’s team who were also part of their victorious campaign in 2017.
Quotes
“We are all equal if someone is a platinum or a growing player. Senior players have a little more pressure on them and we expect us to perform at the biggest occasions and this is as big as it becomes.” Pakistan Captain Mohammad Rizwan
Karthik Krishnaswamy is assistant editor at ESPNCRIINFO
