New Zealand’s star spinner Micheal Bracewell had a field day against Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy 2025. New Zealand put in an excellent performance with the ball in the first innings of the game. The side limited Bangladesh to a score of 236 runs, and it was Micheal Bracewell who was the star of the show for the Black Caps.
Bowling a complete spell of 10 overs, Micheal Bracewell took four wickets and conceded 26 runs to his name. His four-wicket spell meant that Micheal Bracewell had registered the best bowling figures for a New Zealand spinner in the ICC Champions Trophy. Overall, Micheal Bracewell registered the fourth-best spell by a New Zealand bowler in the Champions Trophy.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : The last time Rawalpindi hosted ODIs was in April 2023 when Pakistan chased down targets of 337 and 289 comfortably against New Zealand. Rawalpindi has hosted five ODIs since 2010 and there have been seven individual centuries scored here in that period. Big runs and more centuries are on the cards come the first CT fixture at this venue.
Three of the five ODIs have been won by the side batting first, while one ended in a tie. The surface here will be a balanced one with good help for both pacers and spinners. Both teams will prefer chasing at this venue
Toss : New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner won the toss and chose to bowl with wo changes in the playing XI bringing in fit again Rachin Ravindra and Kyle Jamieson for ill Daryl Mitchell and Nathan Smith. Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto who also wanted to bowl first made two changes in the playing XI bringing in Mahmudullah Riyadh and Nahid Rana for Soumya Sarkar and Tanzim Hasan Sakib .
Micheal Bracewell’s career best 4-fer restricts Bangladesh for 236 for 9 as Najmul Hossain Shanto scored a solitary 77
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 Micheal Bracewell who finished with figures of 4-26 in an unchanged 10-over spell. It was Micheal 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.
Micheal Bracewell contributed 43 of 178 dot balls that plagued Bangladesh. You have to go back to 2012 to find an innings they had paced quite so poorly. Rotating strike was a struggle and the avenues they chose to get out of that weren’t ideal. Perhaps the pitch was too slow in the afternoon to be able to work the ball into gaps.
Mushfiqur made a play against Micheal Bracewell but he couldn’t clear the long boundary with his slog sweep. Bangladesh were 106 for 4 in the 23rd over. At a time when consolidation was actually needed, Mahmudullah made an ill-advised trip down the track and skewed a leading edge to cover.
Once Mehidy Hasan chipped Will O’Rourke to mid-on, Micheal Bracewell broke through the spine of the middle-order. Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah all fell attempting and failing at big hits. Micheal Bracewell smiled his way to career-best figures in the process as Bangladesh lost half their side for just 118.
Micheal Bracewell contributed to his success by slowing his pace down. Bangladesh contributed considerably more. They exit the tournament having faced more than 50 overs of dot balls.
Their decision-making left them so short on batting resources that they had Taskin on strike for the 45th over and it ended up as a maiden. The death overs were a total flex for the Black Caps. At one point, they were more than happy with just three fielders on the boundary, instead of the five allowed.
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.
Rachin Ravindra’s majestic 112 runs and Tom Latham’s half century book New Zealand’s semi-final spot in Champions Trophy 2025
Bangladesh had managed to dent New Zealand early with Taskin Ahmed getting 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.
Devon 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.
Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana raised Bangladesh’s hopes with a fiery opening spell, rattling Will Young’s stumps in the first over and snaring Williamson for a rare single-digit score. The infield was richly populated at that point. The whole atmosphere was buzzing, the crowd also getting in the act. Into this walked Ravindra.
One of the best things about his batting is his touch. It’s so pure. Down at No. 4 – he was brought into the XI to replace an ill Daryl Mitchell – there was possibly a risk that he wouldn’t be able to take full toll. But as luck would have it, he began his innings within the field restrictions and that meant he could profit from his timing. His first five fours were all about finding the gaps because his timing always took care of the rest.
Ravindra had to wait 11 overs since the field spread to find his next boundary but that didn’t mean he was stagnant. His first 23 runs came off 21 balls with five fours. His next 28 runs came off 29 balls with one four. There was one chance in between all that. A mix-up with his Wellington team-mate Devon Conway could have resulted in him being run-out had Tanzid Hasan been able to get a direct hit in the 12th over.
A patient Tom 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.
Bangladesh were reminded what could have been towards the end of the chase when there was sharp turn, leading edges, low bounce and even a direct-hit run-out. The wicket merely added to their regret at the one that got away – Ravindra was 26 when Tanzid missed – and the runs that got away – 260 would have made this game so much more competitive.
As it happened, New Zealand went into the chase knowing all they needed were a couple of partnerships and they got those. Ravindra put on 57 runs with Conway and then 129 with Tom Latham, who is so good as a crisis manager. You can almost imagine him side-kicking whoever leads the earth’s remaining population during the zombie apocalypse. First things first, though, there’s an ICC trophy up for grabs.
Bangladesh weren’t able to take their chances. New Zealand did. Williamson did have a hand in proceedings here, picking up smart catches at short midwicket and cover. Micheal Bracewell, after wrapping up an uninterrupted ten-over spell, ran 30 yards to his right to pick up a diving catch that probably wasn’t even his. But he decided to take charge and it worked.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Mitchell Santner the winning New Zealand skipper said : We knew Bangladesh will challenge us in these conditions. Bracewell is a quality bowler. He changed his pace. The key was to pick wickets in the middle overs. The wicket was more two paced than I thought. Little bit of dew but not as much I thought. Rachin loves ICC events. Seemed he never left the game. The partnership with Tom set us up. It would be a different challenge versus India on a different wicket.
Najmul Hossain Shanto the losing Bangladesh skipper said : We started well today. We lost too many wickets in the middle overs. We didn’t bat properly. Was a good wicket to bat on. We needed two big partnerships. Nahid is brilliant. I am happy the way he bowled. The last two years the bowling unit has done well. I think the game vs Pakistan is an important game. Would be good to finish on a high. We need to improve as a batting and fielding side.
Micheal Bracewell Player of the Match for his bowling efforts said : Awesome to contribute to a win. Our main objective was getting to that semi-final spot. It was about keeping the stumps in play and bowling straight, not making it easy for them to score.
There was some help on the surface, but you don’t have any real control once the ball has left your hand. Our side is pretty well balanced. I was hoping I won’t need to get the pads on, but don’t mind. Rachin and Latham set up the game perfectly, made things easier in the end.
So many teams are in transition right now, but all through this Champions Trophy, New Zealand have been showing that their new generation is ready for the big time. It was not so long ago that Kane Williamson was carrying this batting line-up. Seems Rachin Ravindra wants that responsibility now.
He didn’t mind slotting into an unfamiliar position. He didn’t flinch having to come out at 15 for 2. He didn’t stop smiling when he brought up his hundred, an innings that confirmed not just his team’s spot in the semi-finals but also India’s. Pakistan and Bangladesh are now officially knocked out.
This was a game that Najmul Hossain Shanto’s team had to win to stay alive. But they batted like that was just too much trouble. Bangladesh started at nearly a run a ball. But ten of the next 15 overs went for three runs or fewer. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah fell from the pressure created in this period.
A combined 511 matches’ worth of experience was only good for 6 runs in a do-or-die game. Their wickets left Shanto with no way forward. He kept having to readjust to a new partner, to a new match situation, and in the end, produced a staccato innings of 77 off 110. He could have done better. The others should have done better.
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 along with 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.
You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. Bangladesh will have to follow this famous quote. The end of something always leads to another beginning. Bangladesh will have to restructure their model. Their batting and their methods needs a bit of an overhaul.
Pakistan and Bangladesh are out of the tournament. The hosts are out. That’s been very rare in ICC tournaments of late. Bangladesh batted in a timid manner and that I guess didn’t help them. They started well with the ball. Taskin bowled Young with a beauty. Nahid edged out KW.
NZ seemed to be in trouble. But then Rachin came to party. He had a partnership first with Conway and then Latham. The one with Latham saw them scoring 129 runs for the fourth wicket. Rachin fell trying to finish it early. Latham was out run-out. And then Micheal Bracewell and Phillips got together to finish it off. Easy win for the Kiwis and they are through to the semis alongside India. The game between the two will decide who will top the table.
Bangladesh lacked depth in batting. They never scored enough in both the games. Had batting collapses and that never allowed them to score above par in both the games. Their bowling never had enough to play with. 40-50 runs in both the games would have meant they would have been very competitive.
Their dependence on Rahim and Mahmudullah didn’t bear many fruits here. Maybe time to look beyond them now. Shakib was left out for this tourney and so was Litton Das. But nothing much has changed for them. The Bangladesh unit will play their final game against Pakistan and will hope they will be able to open their account.
Their performances in ICC events over the last two decades have been underwhelming. And they would want to improve on it for sure. NZ are growing in strength. They seem to have most bases covered. Two quality spinners. Pace was never a concern. They have an all-round batting unit. They will be one of the teams to beat and have to be one of the favourites. India and NZ would be mouth watering for sure.