New Zealand knock out Bangladesh to reach semis; India qualify too

Rachin Ravindra got to make his Champions Trophy debut courtesy an illness to Daryl Mitchell and he made sure that it was a match to remember with a ton that sealed New Zealand's qualification to yet another ICC tournament semifinal. Alongside New Zealand, India too qualified from Group A, with defending champions and hosts Pakistan getting knocked out alongwith Bangladesh. Ravindra's 105-ball 112 was the pivot for New Zealand's largely fuss-free chase of Bangladesh's 236 which they completed with five wickets and 23 balls to spare.

Bangladesh had managed to dent New Zealand early with Taskin Ahmed gettting Will Young bowled with an incoming delivery and Nahid Rana having Kane Williamson nicking behind. At 15/2, Bangladesh's hopes remained alive but it was quickly flattened thanks to Ravindra.

He first put on a steadying 57-run stand with Devon Conway before Mustafizur got the better of the opener. But Ravindra continued with the confidence he had shown from the outset, flicking the second delivery he faced off Rana for a boundary. He proceeded to punish Taskin through covers for two boundaries in an over that helped reverse the pressure that Bangladesh had managed to exert in the initial overs.

Conway joined him with three boundaries off Rana in the following over that put the chase on track. He brought up his fifty with an imperious straight drive as he settled into a decisive 129-run stand with Tom Latham. The latter, fresh off a ton in the previous game, played a crucial hand once again while Ravindra teed off.

A patient Latham hit only three boundaries over the course of his 55 but the risk-free approach complemented Ravindra's belligerence perfectly. On either side of getting to his ton, Ravindra was put down by Bangladesh but he had all but ended Bangladesh's hopes by then. He is now ahead of Williamson on the top of the list of centurions for New Zealand in ICC ODI tournaments and made sure that there were no further hiccups even as both fell after New Zealand crossed 200.

In the must-win encounter, Bangladesh went up and down in a roller-coaster of an innings to finish with a total of just 236 which proved to be below-par. After being put in to bat first, Bangladesh's openers had started purposefully, adding a brisk 45-run stand. The Rawalpindi pitch had tradition of being high-scoring but New Zealand were able to put the brakes on Bangladesh's intent with regular strikes. Leading the way on that front and setting the tone was offspinner Michael Bracewell who finished with figures of 4-26 in an unchanged 10-over spell. It was Bracewell who broke the opening stand, getting Tanzid Hasan to miscue to midwicket.

The middle overs proved to be the scourge of Bangladesh as they struggled to up the ante as well as keep a check on the wicket-flow. Only skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto managed to marry intent with the runs. Shanto's 77 stood out through that period where Bangladesh's experienced campaigners fell trying to get the run-rate up. Once Mehidy Hasan chipped Will O'Rourke to mid-on, Bracewell broke through the spine of the middle-order. Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah all fell attempting and failing at big hits. Bracwell smiled his way to career-best figures in the process as Bangladesh lost half their side for just 118.

Meanwhile Shanto waged a lone hand before he fell against the short ball of O'Rourke for 77. The lower-order fightback was led by Jaker Ali once again and Bangladesh managed a better finish, scoring at more than 6-an-over in the last 10. Ali and Rishad Hossain were instrumental in helping Bangladesh over 200 and to a total that would still not be enough against the brilliance of Ravindra and Co.

Brief Scores: Bangladesh 236/9 in 50 overs (Najmul Hossain Shanto 77, Jaker Ali 45; Michael Bracwell 4-26) lost to New Zealand 240/5 in 46.1 overs (Rachin Ravindra 112, Tom Latham 55) by 5 wickets