Pakistan's opening batter, Fakhar Zaman, got injured after tripping near the boundary line while chasing the ball. His spikes got caught in the ground, causing him to fall. He was subsequently taken off the field shortly thereafter, raising concerns about a serious injury. Kamran Ghulam replaced him on the field, and Zaman appeared to be in considerable pain as he was helped off.
Fakhar Zaman had stepped in as a replacement for Saim Ayub, who was ruled out of the Champions Trophy even before the provisional squad was announced. Zaman had been away from the team for a while before being brought back to open alongside Babar Azam.
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He performed decently in the Tri-Nation series, gradually regaining his form. With expectations high for him to excel in this Champions Trophy, it was unfortunate that he sustained an injury right at the beginning of the tournament.
Fakhar Zaman was the hero of Pakistan's last Champions Trophy win in 2017, where he scored a century in the final against India, helping Pakistan secure their long-awaited ICC title. Fans were hopeful he would perform well during their title defense, making his injury all the more disappointing.
New Zealand got off to a solid start.
After losing the toss and being forced to bat first, they had 30 runs on the board without losing a wicket in the first five overs. There was not much swing with the new ball, but some seam movement was evident, especially when Shaheen Afridi was bowling. The pitch looked good for batting, with the ball coming onto the bat nicely and the outfield being quite fast in Karachi. At the end of six overs, New Zealand was at 33 runs without loss, with Will Young leading the charge at 22 runs off 24 balls, while Devon Conway was slowly settling in with 10 runs off 12 balls. For more updates, follow the link provided below.
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