NZ beat Bangladesh by 5 wickets, qualify for CT semifinals from Group A along with India
Rawalpindi, Feb 24 (PTI): New Zealand beat Bangladesh by five wickets in a Champions Trophy Group A match here on Monday, a result which sent the Kiwis as well as India into the Champions Trophy semifinals.
New Zealand's win meant that Bangladesh and hosts Pakistan, who have lost both their two matches so far, were knocked out of the tournament.
India and New Zealand have four points each from two wins so far in Group A. Top two teams from each group qualify for the semifinals.
Rachin Ravindra (112) struck a magnificent century as New Zealand chased down the target of 237 with 23 balls to spare.
Tom Latham and Devon Conway chipped in with 55 and 30 respectively as New Zealand reached 240 for 5 in 46.1 overs.
Earlier, Michael Bracewell bagged four wickets as New Zealand restricted Bangladesh to a modest 236 for 9 despite skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto's 77.
Bracewell accounted for Tanzid Hasan (24), Mushfiqur Rahim (2), Mahmudullah (4) and Bangladesh's last match centurion Towhid Hridoy (7) to return with impactful figures of 10-0-26-4.
Brief Scores:
Bangladesh: 236/9 in 50 overs (Najmul Hossain Shanto 77, Jaker Ali 45; Michael Bracewell 4/26, William O'Rourke 2/48).
New Zealand: 240 for 5 in 46.1 overs (Rachin Ravindra 112, Tom Latham 55; Taskin Ahmed 1/28).
New Zealand make it two wins in two games, and are into the #ChampionsTrophy 2025 semi-finals 🤩 pic.twitter.com/UwPpYWPfp5
— ICC (@ICC) February 24, 2025
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
