Pakistan’s Champions Trophy preparations were dealt a huge blow on Friday, as the tournament hosts lost the tri-nation series final to New Zealand by 5 wickets. For New Zealand, it was all about the bragging rights as both teams will square off at the same venue in the opening match of the Champions Trophy on February 19. However, during the final, a bizarre incident took place in Karachi as a black cat entered the ground, resulting in the halt of play for a few minutes.
The incident happened during New Zealand’s chase. The play was abrupted for a few minutes until the cat crossed the boundary ropes and found a place to sit there. During the first innings, the cameras also caught a kite chasing down the cat, unintentionally forcing the latter to cross the playing field.
Reacting to the incident, former New Zealand pacer Danny Morrisson, who was on commentary, cheekily said, “The Black Caps are joined on the field by the black cat.”
We’ve got some feline company enjoying cricket on the ground#3Nations1Trophy | #PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/Nx2RMmzA82
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) February 14, 2025
Pakistan vice-captain Salman Ali Agha, who scored a century in the previous game against South Africa, was named ‘Player of the Series’. He ended the series with 219 runs and 1 wicket.
“I am batting well. We wanted to win, but that didn’t happen. The focus will be on the CT. [Surface] This can be expected from Karachi. One wicket will be a belter, one will be two paced. I love batting. It was a challenging pitch to bat on. The pitch was gripping. It was a 280-290 wicket. We were 30 runs short. But my wicket and then Rizwan’s wicket took the game away from us,” Agha said at the presentation ceremony.
Reflecting on the loss, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan said: “We wanted to bat first because we thought in the second half, the pitch would be tough. But their bowlers put a squeeze on us. We were looking to target 280 but they got it back. We were 15 runs short. They were bowling very well. Me and Agha were trying to build the stand. We tried doing that, but they were not giving us the balls. We kept the target to 280, not 300. My wicket was crucial. [Fielding] We have to bring the improvement. This is one department we are lacking. [Abrar] He has really improved. The others have to improve as well. [CT’25] We wanted to prepare for the 19th as well. So that is why we wanted to bat first as well.”
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