Captain Mohammad Rizwan highlighted a key shortcoming in the ODI series, pointing to the team’s failure to capitalize on the new ball in seam-friendly conditions. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first in all three matches but struggled to make use of the favorable conditions.
“I think if you ask any team in the world what they would do on a wet, green pitch after winning the toss on a New Zealand morning before the winters here, they’d say the same,” Rizwan told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“The conditions that were put in front of us, we all knew that. The problem was that with the new ball, we tried to survive that phase. We tried to get through the initial 10 overs.”
He further added, “If you look at the way they (New Zealand) played, they were taking wickets with the new ball in the second innings. So, we didn’t take the benefit of winning the toss. If you think we should’ve batted first after winning the toss, it would’ve been something completely different because the conditions didn’t favor that.”
This series loss adds to Pakistan’s recent disappointments, following their winless campaign at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 as hosts. Rizwan noted a recurring pattern in Pakistan’s recent struggles, emphasizing the team’s inability to finish strong.
“The problem that we’ve had consistently came out during the Champions Trophy and the tri-series (against New Zealand and South Africa),” Rizwan said. “If you look at the games we’ve played, we’ve been able to hold the teams till 40 overs. We’re losing the plot after that.”
He added, “Hopefully, all of us alongside the management can work towards having the same effort till the 50th over that we put in the initial 30-35 overs.”
Chasing 265 in a rain-shortened match (42 overs) in Mount Maunganui, Pakistan started well, with Babar Azam scoring a half-century. However, the visitors faltered as wickets fell rapidly, and New Zealand’s pacers took control.
When asked about the inability of senior players like himself and Babar to finish the chase, Rizwan admitted, “We definitely need to bring some improvement in that department, there are no excuses there. Our ability to finish games is lagging, which is why I think we’re not able to produce results. But there are a lot of things around it that we need to take into account.”