We have only completed six matches in this Champions Trophy and already know two semifinalists from Group A. New Zealand and India will play in the final Group game of the competition, but they will have less pressure to deal with as both teams are in the semis. Sadly, Pakistan and Bangladesh have been eliminated from the tournament. A big game coming up tomorrow from Group B, with heavyweights Australia and South Africa locking horns.
For now, this is me AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentators Akshay Bhideand Pritam Deyand scorer/analyst Raju Khariya, who brought you all the live-action of this box office. We will meet again. Until then, it's cheers!
Mitchell Santner (New Zealand Captain): "A nice feeling. We knew that Bangladesh would give a good challenge. Extremely proud of the way how we pulled things back with the ball. It was amazing to bowl well in the middle overs.
It is hard to pick up wickets in the middle overs in ODIs. Bracewell was fantastic in that phase. He is a quality bowler. The way he can change his pace on these wickets is outstanding. He bowls a lot to right-handers, too.
The pitch was a bit more two-paced than I thought. It felt like there was dew during the second innings. Although, it was not a lot of dew.
He is doing Rachin things, I guess. He loves ICC events. Looks like, he never left the game. He wasn't as fluid as he would have liked, but when he gets going, he is tough to stop. The partnerships involving him were good, too.
(On India game) It will be a different challenge on a different surface. Might be slower, I guess."
Najmul Hossain Shanto (Bangladesh Captain): "I think we started very well. We batted really well in the first 8-9 overs. But we lost wickets in the middle overs and we failed to put a good total on the board.
Obviously, it's a pretty good wicket to bat on. We just needed two big partnerships. We should have carried on little more after 10 overs.
(On Nahid Rana) He's brilliant. I'm happy with the way he bowled. In the last few years, the bowlers have done a very good job but we didn't step up with the bat.
(On last game against Pakistan) It's an important game. If we finish with a win, it will give us a lot of confidence. But having said that, we have to bat and bowl well to win that last game."
Michael Bracewell (Player of the Match): "Yeah itβs awesome to contribute for my team with a win. Our main focus was to win today and secure our spot in the Semi Final. I think we did pretty well today.
I think our main focus was to attack the stumps. If you give any width, their batters will free their arms. I wanted to keep it as tight as possible and then bring in the variable bounce.
Yeah, the breeze did remind me of home. Wellington always offers help of the breeze and it was nice to get a little reminder of home.
Yeah I think, that's the benefit of our side. We have a balanced squad and whenever you come to this part of the world, you always get the opportunity to bowl more. I am geared up to bowl in every game even if itβs in Eden Park.
I was hoping that the two batters see us off. Rachin is going from strength to strength and it's really nice to see that."
Player of the Match: Michael Bracewell
Most consecutive wins for visiting teams in
Pakistan: 7 - India
(2006-2008) 6 - Sri
Lanka (1995-1997) 6* - New Zealand (2023-2025)