'Fraud from the start': Ugly cricket fallout as Kiwi stunner exposes ...

Rachin Ravindra struck a superb 112 to lead New Zealand into the Champions Trophy semi-finals with a five-wicket win over Bangladesh, in turn dumping out hosts Pakistan who have been left to deal with an ugly fallout.

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The result in Rawalpindi also ensured India’s semi-final berth in the 50-over tournament as Bangladesh became the other team from Group A to be knocked out.

Both New Zealand and India have two wins from two matches and will now meet in Dubai on Sunday to decide team one and two from the group.

“Feels nice to qualify,” New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner said after the win. “Knew Bangladesh would be a challenge.”

Pakistan, who won the previous edition of the Champions Trophy in 2017, lost to New Zealand and then India in the first International Cricket Council (ICC) event they are hosting since the 1996 ODI World Cup.

Now with New Zealand’s win, Pakistan’s sorry campaign is over early, opening the door to even greater criticism, which was already exploding after the India loss.

After that match, Pakistan legend Shoaib Akhtar launched a brutal rant on live TV, particularly taking aim at superstar batter Babar Azam who was out for 23 off 26 balls.

“We always compare Babar Azam to Virat Kohli. Now tell me, who is the hero of Virat Kohli? Sachin Tendulkar has scored 100 centuries, and Virat is chasing his legacy,” Akhtar said on the show Game On Hai. “Who is Babar Azam’s hero? (No one). You have picked the wrong heroes.

“Your thought process is wrong. You were a fraud from the beginning.”

Mohammed Hafeez was also brutal in his assessment, saying there’s no comparison of Babar to Kohli.

“Babar Azam is not the true king. It is Virat Kohli,” he said.

“Tell me Babar Azam, the best Pakistani product that has come in the past 10 years. Tell me his one good performance against India. Babar Azam is not Inzamam-ul-Haq.

“He used to win matches for Pakistan in difficult conditions. Babar Azam has not won a single match against India to date. He is playing for the past 10 years and has never become a player of the series in SENA countries. In Australia or England, he has never led Pakistan to victory.”

He then called on the PCB to move on from Babar.

“We need to realise that those who we are banking on are not performing and we should move on from them. Give the opportunity to them who are waiting in the system,” he said.

Meanwhile, ESPNCricinfo journalist Sidharth Monga described Pakistan as being in a “terminal, slow decline”.

“This just feels wrong. Bad cricket brought hope with it. That there could be a turnaround if they got their basics together or if they could pull in the same direction,” he wrote in the publication. “That this was not their ceiling.

“Now it just feels like those revolting nuts and bolts have finally given in after prolonged rust.”

India refused to tour Pakistan due to political reasons and instead are playing all their matches in Dubai, which will host the final if the Asian giants go the distance.

New Zealand have been the team to beat in this group after they humbled Pakistan by 60 runs in the tournament opener.

Coming in as firm favourites in their second match, New Zealand elected to field first and spinner Michael Bracewell returned career-best ODI figures of 4-36 to restrict Bangladesh to 236-9.

Chasing 237 for victory, New Zealand slipped to 15-2 and 72-3 before Ravindra and fellow left-hander Tom Latham, who made 55, added 129 for the fourth wicket.

Both were dismissed before the end but New Zealand still achieved the target with 23 balls to spare.

The Black Caps had a disastrous start when pace bowler Taskin Ahmed bowled first-match centurion Will Young for a duck.

Bangladesh’s new pace sensation Nahid Rana took down Kane Williamson caught behind for five with a delivery bowled at 148.8 km/h (92.4 mph).

- Ravindra reset and intruder -

Ravindra, who returned to the team after recovering from a nasty blow to his forehead in a recent tri-series match against Pakistan, joined Devon Conway to rebuild the innings.

Conway hit back with a flurry of boundaries and made 30 before Bangladesh checked the surge and Mustafizur Rahman hurried one on to the left-hander who chopped on to his stumps.

Ravindra stood firm and with Latham, another centurion in the opener against Pakistan, waded his way through the chase and after reaching his fifty bossed the bowlers.

Ravindra raised his fourth ODI ton -- on his Champions Trophy debut -- with a single off Rana and raised his bat to soak up the applause.

“He’s doing Rachin things I guess,” Santner said of his batter who hit a hundred in his ODI World Cup debut in 2023.

“He loves ICC events. Looks like he never left the game. He wasn’t as fluid as he’d have liked but when he gets going he’s tough to stop. His partnerships were good too.”

Ravindra’s knock was interrupted by an intruder who barged on to the field to hug the batter before being escorted out of the ground by security.

The young boy, wearing a white shalwar kameez, was carrying a photo of a leader of one of Pakistan’s radical religious parties.

Ravindra finally fell, caught at long-on off leg-spinner Rishad Hossain, and wicketkeeper-batsman Latham’s run out added some late drama. But Glenn Phillips, 21 not out, and Bracewell, who hit the winning boundary, sealed victory.

Player of the match Bracewell set up victory with key strikes that began with his second delivery to dismiss Tanzid Hasan for 24 and end a strong start by Bangladesh.

Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto made 77 and Jaker Ali 45 in an attempt to put up a competitive total but Bracewell kept getting wickets.

“I thought we started well with the bat but we lost wickets in the middle,” said Shanto.

“On this pitch we didn’t bat well.” Bracewell was ably supported by the New Zealand quicks with Will O’Rourke collecting two wickets.