By Ehsan Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)
Top-order batsman Rachin Ravindra banged a brilliant century and off-spinning all-rounder Micheal Bracewell captured top four wickets as New Zealand, along with India, stormed into the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 when they thrashed Bangladesh by five wickets at Pindi Stadium on February 24.
Ravindra, who suffered an injury on the forehead during the tri-series opener in Lahore, made a grand comeback with a superb 112 off 105 with a dozen boundaries and a six while left-handed Tom Latham made 55 as Black Caps cruised to an easy victory while chasing a modest target of 237 on a flat pitch.
With New Zealand’s triumph, defending champions and hosts Pakistan have crashed out of the event with their last match game against Bangladesh to be a mere formality. Their fate was not unexpected after having lost to New Zealand and India in their first couple of games.
The cricket enthusiasts in Pakistan kept following the game between New Zealand and Bangladesh in anticipation of an upset which could have kept the hosts alive in the competition.
At times, it did look as if another stunning result was round the corner to keep Pakistan afloat but the wishes of the home fans were not fulfilled.
There were signs of divine help on way when New Zealand lost opener Will Young, a centurion in the previous outing, for a six-ball duck and Kane Williamson, arguably the most consistent of all modern-day batsmen, also perished cheaply.
When left-handed opener Devon Conway returned to the dressing room after making 30 as New Zealand struggled to 72 for three in the 16th over, there was even greater hope of an upset coming up.
However, Ravindra and Latham controlled their nerves and remained unruffled by the loss of early wickets. Turning the things around with a superb 129-run fourth wicket stand. Latham hit just three boundaries but his knock of 55, coming from 76 balls helped the cause of his team immensely.
Ravindra, as he has often done in the recent past, paced his innings intelligently and runs kept coming at decent rate which didn’t allow any pressure to be created on the batters. He played attacking shots whenever the ball was in his hitting arc and with the calm and composed Latham doing the business at the other end, the outcome was seldom in doubt.
With the asking rate coming down with every passing over, Ravindra duly achieved his personal landmark of scoring yet another ODI century, his first in the Champions Trophy on his maiden appearance. Neither he nor Latham could finish the match but they had done enough to secure another emphatic victory for their team.
Earlier, Bangladesh inserted to bat by Mitchell Santner, were restricted to 236 for nine in the allotted 50 overs. Skipper Najamul Hossain Shanto hit a fighting 77 off 110 balls studded with nine fours while Jaker Ali contributed 45 off 55 balls with three four and one six.
Off-spinner Micheal Bracewell, adjudged Player of the Match, bowled smartly to grab four wickets for 26 in tight 10-over spell. Speedster Will O’Rourke snapped up two wickets for 48 runs as Bangladesh played out a record number of 178 dot balls during the course of their innings.
The Bangladesh batsmen were unable to maintain a healthy rate of scoring as they were stifled by the spin-cum-pace attack of the Black Caps, which as usual, was not prepared to give anything away. The captaincy of Santner was as impressive as ever.
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