New Delhi: New Zealand’s victory over Bangladesh in Rawalpindi Monday not only secured their spot in the semifinals but also dashed host nation Pakistan’s final hopes in Champions Trophy 2025.
New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 5 wickets with 23 balls remaining.
Chasing a total of 237, the Kiwis lost a few early wickets, including that of Kane Williamson.
Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Mustafizur Rahman and Rishad Hossain picked a wicket each.
But, Rachin Ravindra, who went on to score his fourth ODI Champions Trophy century, and wicketkeeper Tom Latham (55 of 76 balls) built the innings, navigating through Bangladesh’s bowling attack and lackluster fielding.
The finishing touches were given by Glenn Phillips (21*) and Michael Bracewell (11*).
New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner won the toss and opted to bowl first. For Bangladesh, Najmul Hossain Shanto emerged as the top scorer with 77 runs, while Jaker Ali scored 45.
Meanwhile, Michael Bracewell picked four wickets. For which, he also took home the ‘player of the match’ award.
This defeat has ended the 2025 Champions Trophy campaign for both Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Earlier, India defeated Bangladesh by six wickets. Whereas Pakistan was handed down a 60-run defeat from New Zealand and they suffered another loss against India.
The two teams, who sit at the bottom of the table with 0 points each, will face off in their final match on 27 February.
Had Bangladesh won against New Zealand, the result of this clash would have carried more significance.
However, it will be intriguing to see which of the two teams manages to open their points tally before saying goodbye to the tournament.
Meanwhile, New Zealand will lock horns with Rohit Sharma’s men in their final group-stage match Sunday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Both India and New Zealand have registered two victories—against Pakistan and Bangladesh—in the group stage so far.
Now, a win would guarantee the top spot in the tally. And, only one of them will be able to keep the unbeaten streak in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 alive.
After today’s victory, New Zealand sits at the top of the Group A points table with a net run rate of 0.86. Whereas India’s run rate, in second place, is 0.65.
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