The New Zealand opener Will Young led Shaheen Afridi through the covers to beat the inner field, Zaman going in pursuit. He cut him before rendering him to Babar Azam to send him back to the goalkeeper, but immediately seemed to be uncomfortable in the lower back. He pointed out that he had to be replaced and treated, and came out of the field with the physio, walking without help in the locker room.
Pakistan was hampered by an injury to Saim Ayub in similar circumstances, which finally held him away from the Champions Trophy. In a test against South Africa, he went in pursuit of a bullet on the border, before twisting his ankle. This led to a fracture that will keep him away until the least in mid-March. Zaman, which hitherto did not make Pakistan’s ODI plans, returned to the side of Ayub’s replacement, and had made an impressive return, marking 84 on 598 and 41 out of 25 in his first two games on the side.
The game marks the return of the ICC tournament cricket to Pakistan for the first time since 1996, with a huge crowd going to the National Stadium in Karachi in the hours preceding the departure. The opening ceremony was followed by Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari and experienced a parade of the Airforce fly after the draw, which Pakistan won and asked New Zealand to beat.
