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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Siddaramaiah in 'helpless situation', under some 'compulsion', claims Cong MLA Rajanna
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Bengaluru (PTI): Amid claims that Siddaramaiah's confidants are being targeted within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, following recent actions against some party leaders, senior MLA K N Rajanna on Friday alleged that the chief minister is "helpless" and under some "compulsion" as he is not standing up to defend his people.
The comments from the former minister, who is considered close to Siddaramaiah, came after Congress took action against some of its minority community leaders--considered close to the CM--following allegations of an internal conspiracy against the party candidate in the Davanagere South bypoll held on April 9.
Rajanna himself was sacked from the Ministry last August on the instructions of the party high command, following his alleged comments criticising top party leader Rahul Gandhi's "vote theft" charge.
"There will be vested interests in the party who will try to conspire against those who have been loyal to the party and want the party to grow for the welfare of the people. Nothing can be done about it. What we expect from our chief minister is that when such a situation arises, he should stand strong, but he is not standing and that is a sad thing," Rajanna said in response to a question whether Siddaramaiah's followers were being targeted in Congress.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "... I don't know what his thinking is. But we did not expect such a helpless situation from Siddaramaiah."
When asked who had made Siddaramaiah helpless, the former minister said, "I won't say who, you understand it yourself."
"People are saying that those close to Siddaramaiah are being targeted...I don't know what compulsions Siddaramaiah has. If he tells, we can know, but he won't say. I don't know under what compulsion he is following this neutrality," he said, adding that the CM is helpless and a person becomes "helpless" when his/her voice shrinks.
The Congress recently suspended MLC K Abdul Jabbar from the party's primary membership and relieved another MLC Naseer Ahmed from the post of chief minister's political secretary. This action came after a group of Muslim leaders accused members of their own party of "conspiracy" to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
Following the action against Jabbar and Naseer Ahmed, speculation is that Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan may also face action during the next cabinet rejig, as these three wanted a Muslim to get the bypoll ticket in Davanagere South, which the party gave to the late MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa's grandson Samarth Mallikarjun. They also did not actively participate in campaigning.
Citing a Kannada saying that there is no punishment for the mistakes committed by the King, Rajanna, in what seemed to be a veiled dig at Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, asked, "Does sharing a stage with a person (referring to Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev) who said, 'Who is Rahul Gandhi? I don't know,' not amount to indiscipline?"
Referring to AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge's statement on whether poverty could be ended by taking a dip in the Ganga at Prayagraj, he said, "...but this person (again referring to Shivakumar) goes there and compliments UP CM Yogi Adityanath for arrangements made for the Kumbh Mela. He also goes to Ambani family marriage, while Rahul Gandhi did not even accept the invitation."
"I'm not saying that action should be taken against this person too, but the party will have to observe these things also," he added.
Rajanna further pointed out that no action was taken when veteran Congress leader and late MLA from Davanagere South Shamanur Shivashankarappa made a speech seeking votes for BJP candidate B Y Raghavandra during Shivamogga Lok Sabha polls, and asked if this did not amount to indiscipline.
"The same people were at the helm then (referring to Shivakumar as KPCC chief), even a verbal warning was not given to him (Shivashankarappa)," he said, adding that, similarly no action was taken when Samarth Shamanur filed his nomination in Davanagere South before the party announced its candidate for Davanagere South-- that was also an act of indiscipline.
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