NEW DELHI: Tom Latham and Will Young struck impressive tons as New Zealand thrashed defending champions Pakistan by 60 runs in their Champions Trophy opener in Karachi on Wednesday.
The Kiwis put up a dominant show with both bat and ball, establishing their strong start to the tournament.
After an all-round show, captain Mitchell Santner acknowledged crucial roles of centurions Young and Latham tons in setting up a winning total of 320 for 5.
"I thought Pakistan bowled well, even through the middle stage, but the way Young and Latham rotated the strike and got the odd boundary really set us up. We were thinking 260-280, but it shows what you can do if you have a platform and wickets in hand," said Santner.
After posting 320 for five, New Zealand put the squeeze on Pakistan batters in the powerplay and the hosts could not recover from there to end at 260 all out.
"After the score we got, the first 10 overs with the ball were outstanding, the way our new-ball guys were able to smash a length. We built the run-rate pressure and were able to chip wickets throughout," said Santner who himself got the ball to turn and ended up with three wickets.
Pakistan's captain Mohammed Rizwan acknowledged New Zealand's impressive batting performance.
"I think they set a very good target, we didn't expect they would get 320. We thought around 260 when we took early wickets. The Will Young-Latham partnership was crucial.
"We tried, but they played very smartly and that's why they got to that total. The pitch was not easy to bat early on, but Will Young and Latham's innings were crucial," said Rizwan.
Pakistan now find themselves in a must-win situation as they face arch-rivals India in Dubai on Sunday.
