The Champions Trophy 2025 is all set to begin with a cracker of a contest as hosts Pakistan are set to kick things off with New Zealand. The match will take place on February 19 (Wednesday) at the National Stadium in Karachi. The two sides recently had a go at each other in the final of the tri-series at the same venue on Saturday, February 15. It was the Kiwis who finished on top. This time, Mohammad Rizwan and his men will be looking for revenge as they aim to begin their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign at home off to a flyer.

The National Stadium, Karachi like most venues in Pakistan has been a flat wicket in recent times. This means that it will be a batters' paradise. Hence, batters from both oppositions need to go at the bowlers right from the start to put on a big total. On the other hand, the side chasing will also get a bit of assistance as dew might come into play. Hence, it is advisable that the team who wins the toss bowl first on the batting-friendly Karachi track.

Historically, it is the team batting second who has held the advantage. In the 78 ODIs played the team batting firsts has won 36 matches while the team batting second has won 39 times.

According to Accuweather.com, there is just a 1% probability of rainfall throughout the day on February 19 in Karachi. Hence, fans can expect a full 100 overs of action in the Champions Trophy 2025 opening encounter between Pakistan and New Zealand.

However, conditions will be overcast with a 44% cloud cover present in the city throughout Wednesday.

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (c), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf

New Zealand: Will Young, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, Will O’Rourke

Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Rizwan(w/c), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Khan, Saud Shakeel

New Zealand: Will Young, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, William ORourke, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson, Mark Chapman, Rachin Ravindra

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