In the chilly setting of Mount Maunganui, the Pakistan cricket team wrapped up a disappointing white-ball tour of New Zealand with a 43-run defeat in the final ODI on 5 April, culminating in a 3-0 series whitewash. 

Having already lost the T20I series 4-1, the visitors' struggles continued in seam-friendly conditions that proved too challenging for the subcontinent side.

Following the final loss, skipper Mohammad Rizwan faced the press with honest reflections, offering a candid breakdown of what went wrong across the series. Central to the defeat, he emphasised, was Pakistan's inability to exploit the new ball after winning the toss in all three ODIs and choosing to bowl first.

"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 stated. "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."

In stark contrast, New Zealand capitalised on the same opportunities, with their pace attack consistently breaking through Pakistan's batting order early in the innings.

"We didn't take the benefit of winning the toss," Rizwan admitted. "If you think we should've batted first after winning the toss, it would've been something completely different because the conditions didn't favour that."

The final ODI saw the Kiwis set a challenging target of 265 in a rain-curtailed match reduced to 42 overs. Despite a promising start and a composed fifty from Babar Azam, Pakistan faltered once again in the latter stages of the chase, losing wickets in clusters as New Zealand's pacers dominated.

The tour also brought further disappointment on home soil, as Pakistan failed to register a single win in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, despite being the host nation.

Rizwan noted a recurring trend in the team's performances: holding their own until around the 40th over but failing to close out matches. "The problem that we've had consistently came out during the Champions Trophy and the tri-series (against New Zealand and South Africa)," he said. "We're losing the plot after that. 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."

When asked about the role of senior players such as himself and Babar in the faltering chases, Rizwan didn't shy away from responsibility. "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."

As the team heads back home, the post-mortem of this tour will likely lead to some tough conversations. While Rizwan's candid analysis offers a starting point, the road to redemption will require more than words — it'll demand bold decisions, better execution, and a team willing to grow through adversity.