Rachin Ravindra starred with a century as New Zealand defeated Bangladesh by 5 wickets in Rawalpindi on Monday which in turn ended hosts Pakistan’s Champions Trophy campaign. The Mohammad Rizwan-led Pakistan side would still have had a slim chance of going to the next round if Bangladesh had beaten New Zealand in Monday’s match but due to the Kiwis coming out on top, both Pakistan and Bangladesh were eliminated from the tournament.
Now, the Pakistan vs Bangladesh match on February 27 will only be for pride while India and New Zealand, both of whom have qualified for the semifinals, will take on each other on March 2 to see who tops the Group A table.
Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan had already conceded that their tournament was good as over after their 6-wicket loss to India on Sunday.
“We can say that our campaign is as good as over. We have to depend on results of other matches. There is hope as there is one more game left. As a captain, I don’t like this scenario (depending on other teams). We should have our fate in our hands,” Rizwan had said at the post-match press conference after the India game.
Earlier, in Monday’s match between Bangladesh and New Zealand at Rawalpindi, Michael Bracewell bagged four wickets as the Kiwis restricted the Bangla Tigers to a modest 236/9 despite skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 77.
Bangladesh made a strong start to reach 64/1 in the 12th over but kept losing wickets regularly after New Zealand opted to bowl.
