ICC Champions Trophy: India and New Zealand qualify for semi-finals

With six matches completed, India and New Zealand have emerged as the semi-finalists at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 edition. Both the Group A teams won their first two fixtures at the league stage to claim the spot. With their qualification, hosts and defending champions Pakistan, along with Bangladesh, have been officially eliminated from the tournament. The clear scene emerged after New Zealand beat Bangladesh by five wickets on Monday, 24 February, in Rawalpindi. With Bangladesh's defeat, Pakistan lost whatever slight hope was left for the hosts to earn a semi-final qualification from the back door.

Pakistan, Bangladesh eliminated from ICC Champions Trophy 2025 after defeats to India and New Zealand

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 opened with the Pakistan vs New Zealand clash in Karachi on 19 February. The match marked the Kiwis notching their third consecutive victory over Pakistan in a week. The 60-run defeat in the opener itself derailed Pakistan's campaign in the ICC tournament that they were hosting for the first time ever. However, Pakistan traveled to India with hopes of getting their Champions Trophy trail back on track, eyeing a victory against their arch-rivals. But India has been a tough nut to crack for Pakistan lately, especially with Virat Kohli in the combination.

This time, India vs Pakistan was not even a thriller, as Pakistan clearly failed in all departments against the Men in Blue. Scoring at a slow run rate and enduring a collapse against the Indian spin trio, Pakistan could manage only a 241-run total in the first innings. While Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer pitched in with impactful runs, the final nail in the coffin was hammered by Virat Kohli, as the legacy would have it. Going through a batting slump until then, Kohli chose the India vs Pakistan clash as the event to script his 82nd international century.

Following the India vs Pakistan clash, the hosts were virtually knocked out of the game, with the official tag scheduled to come in the next 24 hours. Pakistan needed Bangladesh to beat New Zealand in an upset. Moreover, the qualification scenario for the defending champions included New Zealand losing their last group-stage fixture against India as well. Additionally, the hosts needed to secure a victory over Bangladesh by a huge margin. However, it's all a tale of the past now that New Zealand has beaten Bangladesh by five wickets in both teams' second group-stage fixture. Now, the Pakistan vs Bangladesh fixture, the last match for the teams in the tournament, will be a dead rubber.

Meanwhile, the India vs New Zealand fixture, scheduled for March 2 in Dubai, will be a battle of equals. Both teams look in sublime form, having collected commanding victories over the eliminated Bangladesh and Pakistan. Moreover, the clash will decide the order of their qualification into the semi-final. The focus, meanwhile, now shifts to Group B, where Australia and South Africa have emerged as the favorites to qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final.

Group B in focus after India, New Zealand qualify for ICC Champions Trophy semi-final from Group A

Australia, in their campaign opener against England, scripted an impressive victory as they recorded the highest-ever successful run chase in an ICC event. While the bowling department appeared to be missing skipper Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, the batting order, with Josh Inglis headlining the chase with his century, left no voids to be filled. England, who arrived in Pakistan after a whitewash at the hands of India, couldn't capitalize on the century by Ben Duckett that led the total to 351, the highest total in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 till then.

Moreover, with Jofra Archer misfiring, their bowlers couldn't put the brakes on the partnership between Alex Carey and Josh Inglis. Meanwhile, Australia had been launched into an ideal chase as Matthew Short, up the top, provided a likable start with a 63-off-66 knock.

South Africa, meanwhile, justified their stature as they easily overcame Afghanistan. While Afghanistan has shown the potential to gulp down the biggies in upsets, the Asian team fell this time as they lost their campaign opener by 107 runs. Now, England and Afghanistan, with one defeat each, need to win their next fixtures to create a tussle in Group B. However, for now, South Africa and Australia look in complete control in their quest for semi-final qualification.