India edge past New Zealand as bowlers put up fine performance

India completed their group stages in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy with a clean sweep as they blew apart New Zealand with a thrilling defence. With the game being a dress rehearsal for both sides as the qualification was already sealed, India made a change in the form of Varun Chakravarthy who came in place of Harshit Rana.

India werr put into bat after New Zealand won the coin flip. The Men in Blue had early troubles to deal with after losing Rohit Sharma (15), Shubman Gill (2) and Virat Kohli (11) in quick succession. Virat looked good for his stay in the center but a superhuman catch from Glenn Phillips left him stunned.

Wobbling at 30/3, India found resistance in the incoming duo of Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel. Shreyas Iyer set the tone for the upcoming overs, while Axar played the perfect two-to-tango. The duo added 98 runs for the fourth wicket before Matt Henry got the better of Axar for 42. Shreyas found support in KL Rahul as he knitted together another crucial stand of 44 runs.

After a well-orchestrated 79, it was Will O’Rourke who got the better of Iyer while India were dealt another hefty blow in the form of KL Rahul (23) in quick succession, reducing them to 182/6. From thereon, it was a show of patience and resilience as the Men in Blue propelled to 249/9 at the end of 50 overs. Hardik Pandya dished out a warring 45, keeping India afloat till the very end.

Shooting down what looked like a modest enough score, the Kiwis did get off to a fine start with Will Young (22) calling the shots. However, India were quick to hit a double brake on the Kiwi run-flow as they wrapped up the openers in short succession. Rachin Ravindra (6) holed out to Axar Patel while Young’s timbre was left shattered by Varun Chakravarthy.

It was Kane Williamson (81) who chimed in with an instrumental knock, keeping the Kiwis alive in the hunt. The Indian bowlers, however, were ravenous for the scalps and they kept on chipping away at them from the other end. Kuldeep Yadav removed Daryl Mitchell (17) while Ravindra Jadeja got the better of the seasoned Tom Latham (14) to force open the floodgates.

It was then a Varun Chakravarthy show as he struck twice again to claim the prized scalps of the dangerous Glenn Phillips (12) and Michael Bracewell (2). Axar Patel got the big wicket of Williamson as KL Rahul made no mistake in dislodging the bails in time and that pretty much was curtains on the Blackcaps’ resistance.

Mitchell Santner did put in a full-blown fight but the New Zealand captain could only manage 28 while he ran short of help from his teammates. The Kiwis were bundled out for 205, imparting India a staggering win by 44 runs. Varun Chakravarthy was the pick of the lot with figures of 5/42 while he had ample support from his teammates with their regimented discipline from the other end. It was CV Varun who also won the Player of the Match award for his rippling fifer.

India will be facing Australia in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy which is slated to be played tomorrow in Dubai.