Former Pakistan batter Ahmed Shahzad has said that it was a bad decision from the hosts to bat first in the tri-series final, especially after they had seen how easy it was to chase down even a 300+ target in Karachi under the lights. Despite winning the semifinal clash against South Africa while chasing 353, Pakistan still opted to bat first at the same venue two days later.

The Pakistan batters struggled to come to grips with a two-paced pitch and were bowled out for 242 in the final over.

New Zealand chased the target down in the 46th over with five wickets in hand, as batting became very easy in the second innings.

"It was a mind-boggling decision (to bat first) because we had seen in the previous match that the pitch becomes better to bat on in the night, the ball doesn't grip on the surface for the spinners. Still, the Pakistan team decided to bat first," Shahzad said while speaking on his YouTube channel.

"Pakistan's bubble has burst ahead of the Champions Trophy. You get a chance to win only when the opposition performs below par or doesn't have their main players playing," Shahzad said.

The loss to Pakistan's second in three games of the tri-series, with both coming against New Zealand. The batter criticised skipper Mohammad Rizwan for overloading their batting and sacrificing bowling options in the tri-series final.

"In his every decision, the Pakistan captain wants to play safe with batting, be it by being a spinner short in the Champions Trophy squad or this match, where they played (bowling all-rounder) Faheem Ashraf to have a longer batting line-up at the expense of (fast bowler) Mohammad Hasnain and still used him (Ashraf) for just two overs," Shahzad said.

Pakistan will open their Champions Trophy campaign on February 19 against New Zealand in Karachi.

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