After a humiliating 3-0 ODI series defeat to New Zealand, Pakistan's white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan remarked on the loss with a clear message: The past is behind us; now it's time to focus on the Pakistan Super League (PSL 2025).
The series loss, culminating in a 43-run defeat at Mount Maunganui, revealed long-standing flaws in Pakistan's batting line.
In the third ODI, New Zealand posted 264/8 with captain Michael Bracewell making 59, Daryl Mitchell scoring 43, and opener Rhys Mariu making his maiden ODI fifty. For Pakistan, Akif Javed took 4/62.
In response, Babar Azam made 50, Mohammad Rizwan made 37, and Abdullah Shafique and Tayyab Tahir each made 33 runs. Pakistan could only muster 221 runs in 40 overs. Ben Sears was the pick of Kiwi bowlers with figures of 5/34, his second consecutive fifer in ODIs.
Despite flashes of form from Babar Azam, who scored two fifties, and a spirited bowling performance from rookie spinner Sufiyan Muqeem, Pakistan failed to compete against a well-drilled New Zealand team.
Ben Sears was the standout performer, becoming the first New Zealander to take five wickets in consecutive ODIs. His short-ball assault decimated Pakistan's middle order in Hamilton and Mount Maunganui.
Alongside him, Jacob Duffy and young batter Rhys Mariu made excellent impressions, demonstrating the Black Caps' depth and versatility.
While talking about the series loss, Mohammad Rizwan made a surprising statement, saying that Pakistan’s losses in the Champions Trophy and the whole white-ball tour of New Zealand was in the past. Now the Pakistani people will enjoy the PSL 2025, which begins on April 11.
“After Champions Trophy and this series, we'll leave the past. PSL is a big tournament for us in Pakistan, hopefully our nation will enjoy. Hopefully, we'll do well in PSL,” Rizwan said in the press conference.
“I give credit to New Zealand in all departments. They've been playing well. We know that these are difficult conditions for us here but they played in Pakistan really well. They played against us in Pakistan. There are professionals in all departments. We need to improve, that's it.
In New Zealand, it's very important to play well against the new ball. We'll learn from here and fix it. If you lose, you can't say like that (when asked if today was their best performance of the tour)," he added.
Despite the bleak outcome, Rizwan remained optimistic: “Individually, we are good, but New Zealand won all the key moments.”
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