By Chanakya Ch
New Zealand defeated Bangladesh and snatched a 5-wicket win against Bangladesh. Kiwis and India have now qualified from Group-A for the semi-finals of Champions Trophy. The victory of New Zealand over Bangladesh has eliminated hosts Pakistan and Bangladesh who lost two matches each.
The young-gun Rachin Ravindra has showcased his class through the match. New Zealand won the toss and put Bangladesh to bat first. They lost their first wicket at 45 runs which put them into trouble,while trying to establish a good partnership which couldn’t sustain and eventually lost their second wicket at 64. While they hit a few good boundaries,the kiwis never lost control of the game and lost their third wicket in the 20 over. Mushfiqur Rahim tried to bring momentum in the 22 over. Bangladesh kept on losing wickets consecutively but captain Shanto displayed his pure class by scoring 77 ( 110 ). Shanto’s inning consisted of nine boundaries. The star bowler, Michael Bracewell, took 4 wickets. He made only 26 runs in 10 overs. He bowled with an economy rate of 2.6. Bangladesh set a target of 237 for the kiwis. However, the start of the second innings was not in the favor of the Kiwis. Will Young was clean bowled, when the bowl on 4th stump had touched the edge .New Zealand fell into trouble when it lost two of its wickets in just 15 runs. It was a shock for the team when New Zealand lost the wicket of Kane Williamson to Mushfiqur. The 129 run partnership between Rachin Ravindra and Tom Latham helped the team gain momentum in the match.. Both of them showed their skills. Tom Latham’s contribution of 55 ( 76 ) and Glenn Phillips 21 ( 28 )* where he smacked 2 fours and 1 six drove the Kiwis into the victory lane.
The Kiwis were in trouble when Rachin Ravindra proved his worth. He scored a massive century which helped New Zealand to qualify for the semi-finals. New Zealand have won both their games one against Pakistan and another against Bangladesh. Like New Zealand, India has also defeated both Pakistan and Bangladesh in previous matches. New Zealand and India will now face each other on 2 March 2025.