Michael Bracewell led with the ball and Rachin Ravindra with the bat as New Zealand produced a clinical performance to defeat Bangladesh by five wickets in the Champions Trophy in Rawalpindi in Pakistan and secured their place in the semifinals along with India from Group A.
With this win, both New Zealand and India ended with two wins in the four-team group and will now clash to decide the group winner. Hosts Pakistan and Bangladesh, both lost two matches each and crashed out of the contention.
It was Bracewell who put New Zealand on course for victory with a brilliant spell in the middle overs, bowling his 10 overs unchanged to claim four wickets for 26 runs as Bangladesh were restricted to 236 in 50 overs. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto top-scored for Bangladesh with 77 runs while Jaker Ali contributed a 55-ball 45.
Rachin Ravindra then stepped in with New Zealand reeling at three down for 72 in the 16th over as Will Young (0), Devon Conway (3), and Kane Williamson (5) departed cheaply, falling to Bangladesh pacers.
Ravindra, who had suffered a serious injury on his forehead in the match against Pakistan in the Tri-Nation ODI Series preceding the Champions Trophy, scored a well-compiled 112 off 105 balls, hitting 12 boundaries and one six. He along with Tom Latham (55 off 76) raised 129 runs for the fourth wicket partnership to put New Zealand on course to victory. They both fell in quick succession but Glenn Phillips and Bracewell ensured New Zealand reached 240/5 in 46.1 overs and sealed a comprehensive victory.
It was no surprise that New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner was effusive in his praise of both Ravindra and Bracewell for their efforts. It is also interesting that 25-year-old Ravindra has now scored more centuries at ICC ODI events (4) than any other New Zealand male player. Santner said it seemed that perhaps Ravindra was not as fluid as usual but the left-handed batter ‘loves ICC events'.
He's doing Rachin things I guess. He loves ICC events. It seemed like he never left the game. He wasn't as fluid as he'd have liked but when he gets going he's tough to stop. His partnerships were good too
The skipper also acknowledged Bracewell, who was named Player of the Match, for his four-wicket haul as he knocked over the Bangladesh top-order. The off-spinner's remarkable spell of 4-26 included 43 dot balls and were the best-ever figures by a New Zealand spinner in the Champions Trophy.
It feels nice to qualify. We knew Bangladesh would be a challenge. The way we pulled things back with the ball was amazing. Hard to take middle-overs wickets in ODIs and Bracewell was amazing. He's a quality bowler now, the way he can change his pace on these wickets is outstanding. Bowls a lot to right-handers too
