New Zealand opener Will Young drove Shaheen Afridi through the covers to beat the infield, with Zaman setting off in pursuit. He cut it off before palming it over to Babar Azam to throw it back to the keeper, but immediately appeared to feel discomfort in his lower back. He signalled he needed to be replaced and treated, and went off the field with the physio, walking unaided back to the dressing room.
Pakistan were hampered by an injury to Saim Ayub in similar circumstances, one that ultimately kept him out of the Champions Trophy. In a Test against South Africa, he set off in pursuit of a ball to the boundary, before ultimately twisting his ankle. It resulted in a fracture that will keep him out until at least the middle of March. Zaman, who until then wasn’t part of Pakistan’s ODI plans, came back into the side as Ayub’s replacement, and had made an impressive return, scoring 84 off 598 and 41 off 25 in his first two matches back in the side.
The game marks the return of ICC tournament cricket to Pakistan for the first time since 1996, with huge crowds building up outside the National Stadium in Karachi in the hours before the start. The opening ceremony was attended by Pakistan’s president Asif Ali Zardari and had an airforce fly-past parade after the toss, which Pakistan won and asked New Zealand to bat.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo