Bangladesh traveled to the ICC Champions Trophy with high hopes, only to return home with a single point, courtesy of an abandoned game against Pakistan. Their performances against India and New Zealand exposed their vulnerabilities on the global stage, particularly in the 50-over format, which was considered their strength not long ago. This tournament could mark the end of the ICC event journey for senior duo Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, but only time will tell what lies ahead for them. Bangladesh is undoubtedly in a transition phase, missing the services of senior players Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan. Their absence was felt more than anything else throughout the tournament, but there’s more to Bangladesh’s struggles. Cricbuzz delves into the key reasons behind their failure. Dot Balls The biggest flaw in Bangladesh’s batting was their failure to rotate the strike, resulting in a staggering 340 dot balls in their first two games: 159 against India and 181 against New Zealand. While other teams approached innings with a 300-plus mindset, Bangladesh struggled to build momentum, which was frequently punctuated by dot balls in nearly every over. Tanzid Tamim’s failure to seize the opportunity The Bangladesh selectors backed Tanzid over Litton Das, but the move didn’t pay off. Despite getting starts in both games, he failed to capitalize, scoring 25 and 24 against India and New Zealand respectively. Big players convert such starts into substantial scores, but the left-hander appeared to squander his chances due to overambition. Tasked with filling the shoes of veteran Tamim Iqbal, Tanzid’s approach raised questions about his mindset; modern-day openers simply cannot afford to throw away starts between 20 and 30 runs. Mehidy Hasan’s failure to take the lead role Mehidy was expected to lead both with bat and ball in Shakib Al Hasan’s absence, but he failed to deliver. He went wicketless in both games and struggled at No. 4, scoring just 5 and 13. The off-spinner lacked penetration and could take a lesson from New Zealand’s Michael Bracewell, who single-handedly dismantled Bangladesh’s batting lineup in their must-win clash. Mehidy’s promotion to No. 4 is now up for debate as he looked vulnerable against genuine fast bowlers. Mustafizur Rahman’s predictability Bangladesh’s pace attack has earned praise in recent times but they are sorely missing the magic of Mustafizur Rahman. The decision to pick him over in-form Hasan Mahmud backfired as opponents seemed well-prepared for his slower balls and cutters. With his diminished pace and lack of swing, Mustafizur needs to reinvent himself to retain his place in the ODI side. The underperformance of Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah Bangladesh will conduct a postmortem of their Champions Trophy campaign and while there were some bright spots — Towhid Hridoy’s maiden ODI ton, Najmul Hossain’s half-century, and Jaker Ali’s consistent performances — the contributions were insufficient against stronger teams. Most notably, Bangladesh lacked impact from their senior duo, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah, whose underperformance hurt them in key moments. Whether Bangladesh moves forward in ODIs without these two veterans remains to be seen but one thing is clear: they need to fix their issues. Their current mindset is holding them back from adapting to the evolving demands of the format and if they don’t make adjustments, they risk falling further behind in international cricket.

England are out of the 2025 Champions Trophy, their insipid challenge floundering in another major tournament as a vibrant Afghanistan ran home victors by eight runs in a scintillating clash at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. On a ground in which they failed to defend 351 a few nights ago, England fumbled in a chase of 326 despite being propped up by an excellent 120 by Joe Root – his first ODI century in nearly six years. Afghanistan’s second win over England in as many ICC ODI events was underpinned by a record-breaking 146-ball 177 from Ibrahim Zadran that rescued the side from a wobbly start which saw them reduced to 37 for 3. Zadran’s knock was both the highest-ever score in Champions Trophy history as well as the highest individual score in the format for an Afghanistan batter. However, the more influential contribution on another belter of a surface in Lahore came from Azmatullah Omarzai, who backed up his 31-ball 41 with career-best figures of 5 for 58 to wrestle back a game, which at different times, appeared to be drifting away from his side. Fittingly, it was Omarzai that closed out the game in the 100th over of this seesawing contest when he had Adil Rashid mis-hit a slower ball to long-off. For it was he that set the Afghanistan ball rolling in what seemed a fairly straightforward chase for England when viewed from the prism of Josh Inglis’s exploits a few nights ago. Phil Salt got going with two boundaries in the first over but lost his stumps while attempting to swipe Omarzai across the line.England then slipped to 30 for 2 when for the second game in a row, Mohammad Nabi struck with his first ball. This time Jamie Smith chipped a leading edge straight to point in a bid to lay down an early marker against spin. Even under some pressure, Root managed a very pristine start to his innings, finding the boundary thrice in his first 10 balls as England added 60 runs in the PowerPlay. As ever, his footwork against spin was exemplary as he alternated between either going back deep into his crease, or using his reach to meet the ball early with his reverse sweeps. Ben Duckett, as he had been in his big century against Australia, scored mostly in the ‘v’ down the ground. The southpaw was a recipient of a reprieve when he was put down by captain Hashmatullah Shahidi on 30. But Duckett managed to add only eight more runs before he played around a slider from Rashid Khan and was pinged on the pads. The Afghans managed to end the 68-run stand with a review that overruled the on-field ‘not out’ decision against Duckett. However, they weren’t particularly good at building the pressure on the new batter and like Root before, Harry Brook managed three boundaries from the first 11 balls he faced to get off to start. Eventually, the fourth wicket came against the run of play as Brook tamely chipped a catch back to Nabi for the veteran’s second wicket. At 133 for 4 in the 22nd over, England were in some strife especially with Buttler struggling to find any kind of tempo to his innings against the spinners. The England captain survived an LBW review against Nabi on Umpire’s Call and his attempts to reverse sweep Noor Ahmad didn’t pay any dividends. Even as Root held one end up, batting serenely, Buttler’s struggles added to the scoreboard pressure. He was on 12 off 24 at one point before he cut loose by charging Nabi and lofting a six. Another maximum came soon enough, this time via a slog sweep. England’s two most senior batters added 83 before Omarzai returned with another twist by bouncing out Buttler for a 42-ball 38. Gulbadin Naib had Liam Livingstone caught behind cheaply as England headed to the final 10 overs of the chase needing 90. Jamie Overton then played it smartly, eschewing all risks in the remaining overs of spin bowled by Noor and Rashid to hold back the attack for Afghanistan’s medium pacers. But as it turned, he and the rest of his colleagues were up against an inspired Omarzai. Joe Root completed a 98-ball 100 and even as he began to experience the after effects of his long innings in the heat, he still managed to unfurl a pair of outstanding shots. One of them was a reverse-scoop for six against Farooqi while the other was a delayed bat swing to maneuver a short ball past square leg for four. England needed 39 to win off 25 when he hobbled off the field for 120 after being undone by Omarzai’s slower-ball bouncer. Overton and Jofra Archer dragged England closer but like some others before him, the former chose the wrong option at the wrong time as he chipped Omarzai to long on with just 17 to win off 14. With an injured Mark Wood in at 11, the game had turned decisively for one last time on the day. That finish didn’t seem possible some five hours before when Afghanistan were teetering at 37 for 3 after interestingly opting to bat. It was a ploy that had served them well 16 months ago when they beat England in a World Cup encounter at New Delhi. But here, they were put under early strife by Jofra Archer, who bowled six of England’s first 11 overs to prize out Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal and Rahmat Shah. In the company of captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, Zadran began the rebuild job, finding the odd boundary to keep the scoreboard ticking. He got to his half-century off 65 balls as Afghanistan crossed 100 in the 25th over. The acceleration began three overs later when he took down Jamie Overton for 16 runs, which included a slap back over the bowler’s head for a six. No sooner had the Zadran-Shahidi partnership crossed 100 than the latter fell for 40, attempting to reverse…

Temba Bavuma is bullish about South Africa’s chances in the Champions Trophy despite the team sweating over Heinrich Klaasen’s fitness ahead of Tuesday’s marquee fixture against Australia. Having missed out on the tournament opener last week with an elbow injury, Klaasen’s fitness is still being assessed by the medical team. While he has slowly resumed batting in the nets, it is unlikely that he will be available for the game against the World Champion side at the Rawalpindi Stadium. Both teams enter the game on the back of convincing wins. Australia would expect Jos Inglis, the hero of the record chase against England, to continue in the same vein while South Africa would look to Ryan Rickelton, the century-maker against Afghanistan, to fire again. The young Rickelton smashed a century and took the gloves against Afghanistan in the opening game, and in a must-win game, The Proteas would rely on their star-studded batting line-up featuring Aiden Markram, captain Bavuma and David Miller. Bavuma felt that this could be another high-scoring game. However, with the competition intensifying, it will be a challenge for the South African batters to ensure that they don’t lose their way in the middle overs and keep the momentum going against a high-flying Australian side. After chasing down a mammoth total (351) on a flat deck in Lahore, the Aussie batters would be hoping to do well on the Rawalpindi surface which is also expected to be a batting beauty. The onus will be on the top-order to perform better than it did against England. In the previous game, Australia left out Sean Abbott and brought in Ben Dwarshuis, who made inroads with the new ball.

Injured Australia captain Pat Cummins believes India have a “huge advantage” to be based in Dubai for the ongoing Champions Trophy while other sides criss-cross Pakistan for their group games in the tournament being held under a ‘hybrid model’. Rohit Sharma’s men are playing all their matches in Dubai and even the final will be held there if the team goes the distance. This was done after India refused to travel to Pakistan, the original hosts of the event, citing security concerns. “I think it’s good in that the tournament can go on, but obviously it does give them (India) a huge advantage playing on the same ground. They already look very strong and they’ve got that obvious benefit of playing all their games there,” Cummins told ‘Yahoo Australia’. India have won both their games, against Bangladesh and Pakistan, comfortably so far and are through to the semifinal on March 4, to be held in Dubai. r last group match is on Sunday against New Zealand, a team that has so far played in Pakistan, also winning both its games against the home side and Bangladesh. Cummins is watching the tournament from the sidelines owing to an ankle injury and is targetting a return to competitive cricket with the IPL next month. The break also coincided with the birth of his daughter. “It’s been nice to be at home with everything going on and the ankle rehab is tracking well, so I will start running and bowling this week,” the 31-year-old said.

India is playing Pakistan at the Dubai International stadium for the crucial Group stage encounter on February 23, 2025. Chasing a target of 242, India started off on a strong note with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill playing their shots. Shaheen Shah Afridi took the wicket of captain Rohit Sharma with the score at 31. Gill and Virat Kohli joined the act and added 69 runs for the second wicket. Gill was dismissed for 46. Kohli was joined by Shreyas Iyer and they took the Pakistan bowling by the scruff of the neck and played splendidly and took India on course of win. Shreyas Iyer was dimissed for a brilliant 56.  It was left to Virat Kohli who played brilliantly and completed his 51st ODI century and took India to a six-wicket win over Pakistan. Interestingly this is Virat Kohli first ICC Champions Trophy century. Earlier, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and opted to bat first. Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq started on a decent note. But the dismissal of the openers in quick succession put Pakistan on the backfoot. But Rizwan and Saud Shakeel played some brilliant cricket to add century partnership.  Once again with the dismissal of Rizwan and Saud in quick succession, Pakistan slowly got to a decent score with some good hitting from Khushdil Shah towards the end of the innings. Pakistan was all out for 241 inside 50 overs.

Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan has conceded that his team’s Champions Trophy campaign is as good as over following his team’s loss to India here. The six-wicket defeat to India was Pakistan’s second in as many games. From Group A, India and New Zealand are expected to reach the semifinals. Pakistan’s last league game is against Bangladesh on February 27. “We can say that our campaign is as good as over. We have to depend on results of other matches. There is hope as there is one more game left. As a captain, I don’t like this scenario (depending on other teams). We should have our fate in our hands,” said Rizwan at the post-match press conference. He gave due credit to India and especially Virat Kohli, who completed his 51st ODI hundred and his fourth against the arch-rivals. “I am amazed at the hardwork he puts in. The whole world was saying he was out of form but coming into such a big game, he scored runs effortlessly. His fitness and work ethic is indeed praiseworthy. We tried our best to get him out but we could not. “As far as the match is concerned, we are obviously disappointed, We made mistakes in all three departments. We were not able to take wickets in the middle overs,” he added. Pakistan came into the tournament as defending champions having won the last edition back in 2017. They are hosting an ICC event for the first time in 29 years and an early exit as hosts will indeed be a big setback for Rizwan’s team. Pakistan had lost to New Zealand in their tournament opener. The Blackcaps had also beaten them twice in the preceding tri-series in Pakistan. Rizwan said the team is not learning from its mistakes. “Look, honestly, we made the same mistake that we have been making in the past with four matches. “We are trying to do our work and put in our efforts. Because what I believe in is that our Indian team put in more effort than us today. Maybe they were more brave than us. And we needed energy in our fielding. So maybe we lacked that energy,” said the wicket-keeper batter. Rizwan acknowledged the injuries to openers Saim Ayub and more recently Fakhar Zaman did impact them adversely. “Our loss occurred when we missed out on Saim Ayub, because we had a package with Saim Ayub because of which our team had settled down. But when Saim Ayub left, our balance and our team’s combination faced a big impact. “Then Fakhar came and did what was required of us. Then Fakhar Zaman came and then Imam. Imam and Fakhar are two different players. You can’t match them in any category. Because they have different calibres and different things,” he said. Pakistan’s decision to pick only one specialist spinner in the squad has also drawn criticism. Rizwan defended that selection call saying it is the age of all-rounders. “No, you can’t say anything like that – that we did a mistake by picking just one spinner. If you look at that Indian team also they have Kuldeep as the front-line spinner. “Jadeja is like an all-rounder, the same goes for Axar Patel. We also have Salman Ali Agha – he bowled very well in other countries as well and Khushdil Shah, they bowled very well in the past. “If we don’t take wickets in the middle overs – you can’t win the matches,” Rizwan rued.

Legendary Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting termed opener Shubman Gill who understands his path and marked him as the future captain of India. Gill, currently the ODI vice-captain, is in red-hot form in 50-over format and made a bright beginning to the ongoing Champions Trophy with a hundred in India’s six-wicket win over Bangladesh. “We’ve had a chance to catch up over the last couple of years, particularly around the IPL season. I like his demeanour. He seems like a very driven guy who wants to be the best that he possibly can be with batting and also as far as leadership’s concerned,” Ponting told ICC Review. “He just seems like a really nice character. A really softly spoken guy, very driven for what he wants to achieve in the game,” Ponting said. ‘Gill’s ODI success will reflect in Test too’ The former Australian captain said the one-day format suits Gill’s style of batting, and hoped the 25-year-old will soon translate that success into Test cricket. “He’s been a very, very good international player for a number of years. He hasn’t sort of transferred that over into Test Match cricket yet, but his white ball cricket over the last three or four years has been outstanding. “Look, he’s a big game player as well. He’s played really well in IPLs over the last couple of years, obviously being captain of his franchise,” said Ponting. Ponting, a two-time 50-over World Cup winning captain, then explained why Gill has been excellent in ODI cricket. “I just think that the white ball game really suits his style of play. He can come out and be nice and aggressive early on in the power play with the field up, get some boundaries away early by playing good, naturally aggressive cricketing shots. “He’s not a big hitter, he’s not anyone that goes out there and tries to do anything outside of the way that he can naturally play. He just scores boundaries almost at will against fast bowling, against the white ball,” he noted.