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New Zealand have confirmed their spot in the semi-final after they defeated Bangladesh by 5 wickets in match number six of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Rawalpindi. For New Zealand, Rachin Ravindra, who was playing his first-ever match of the Champions Trophy, announced his arrival with a match-winning hundred as the Black Caps became first side to enter the knockout stages of the tournament. It also turned out to be great news for the Indian fans as Men in Blue have also qualified the semi-finals with Bangladesh and the hosts Pakistan getting knocked out.
Talking about the match, batting first, Bangladesh posted 236/9 in their 50 overs with skipper Najmul Hossain leading from the front with a half-century. In reply, Rachin Ravindra turned out to be a match-winner with a hundred in his debut Champions Trophy match as New Zealand chased the target in 46.1 overs losing five wickets.
Rachin Ravindra and Tom Latham guide New Zealand to convincing win
Coming to bat first after winning the toss, Bangladesh had a good start as Tanzid Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto added 45 runs for the wicket in 8.2 overs. Shanto played a captain’s knock 77 runs off 110 balls hitting nine boundaries. Apart from that, Jaker Ali also scored 45(55) with three fours and a six as Bangladesh crossed the 230-run mark. For New Zealand, Michael Bracewell took 4 wickets, Will O’Rourke took two while Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry scalped a wicket each.
Chasing the winning target, New Zealand their first wicket in the very first over of the innings without any run on the board. After a few overs, Kane Williamson also went back as New Zealand were restricted to 15/2 after 3.3 overs. After that, Rachin Ravindra took charge of the innings and ended up scoring 112 runs off 105 balls with 12 fours and a six, Rachin also added 129 runs along with Tom Latham who got out after scoring 55(76) runs hitting three boundaries. After that, Glenn Phillips gave finishing touches with the bat as New Zealand chased the target with 23 balls remaining.
