DUBAI: India secured the top spot in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 group stage with a 44-run victory over New Zealand at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Dominating with both bat and ball, the Men in Blue extended their unbeaten run in the tournament, setting the stage for a strong semi-final campaign.
Chasing a modest 250-run target, New Zealand’s batting unit unfolded on a meagre 205 despite Kane Williamson’s anchoring half-century.
The experienced batter waged a lone battle against India’s spin-laden bowling attack with a gutsy 81 off 120 deliveries, laced with seven boundaries.
Skipper Mitchell Santner (28) and opening batter Will Young (22) were the other notable run-getters for the Blackcaps, while the rest fell cheaply.
Chakravarthy was the standout bowler for India, taking five wickets for just 42 runs in his 10 overs, followed by Kuldeep Yadav with two scalps.
Earlier, India managed to set a 250-run target against New Zealand after top batting order collapsed.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner’s decision to bowl first paid dividends as their bowling unit dominated the strong Indian batting unit and restricted them to 249/9 in the allotted 50 overs.
The 2013 champions got off to a shaky start to their innings as Kyle Jamieson and Henry decimated their top order – Shubman Gill (two), Rohit Sharma (15) and Virat Kohli (11) – to reduce them to 30/3 in 6.4 overs.
Following the early debacle, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel joined forces to launch recovery as they added a crucial 98 runs for the fourth wicket until the latter fell victim to Rachin Ravindra in the 30th over.
Patel scored 42 off 61 deliveries with the help of three fours and a six.
Iyer was then involved in a brief 44-run partnership for the fifth wicket with KL Rahul before Will O’Rourke drew curtains on his valiant knock.
He remained the top-scorer for India with a 98-ball 79, comprised of four fours and two sixes.
Following his dismissal, India lost two more wickets in quick succession and as a result, were slipped to 223/7 in 45.5 overs.
But, a brisk 45-run cameo by Hardik Pandya down the order bolstered India to a competitive total.
Matt Henry led the bowling charge for New Zealand with 5/42 in his eight overs, while Kyle Jamieson, O’Rourke, Mitchell Santner and Ravindra made one scalp apiece.
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