India vs New Zealand Highlights: The India vs. New Zealand match in Dubai on March 2nd of March marked the end of group-stage encounters in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy. The 12th match of the ICC event included the two semi-finalists fighting for the top spot in Group A, as the winners of the match would feature in a much-anticipated semi-final against World Champions Australia on the 5th of March.
Coming on the field, New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to field against India in Dubai. This was the first time the Men in Blue were sent to bat first, as the previous occasions marked their wins chasing the set targets.
New Zealand bowlers did a fairly good job getting some amount of early swing and lateral movement on the ball, which made scoring runs tough for the Indian top order. Also, the New Zealand bowlers put on a stunning effort towards the back end, thus restricting India to just 249 in their 50 overs.
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India vs New Zealand Match Highlights for Today’s Game
India vs New Zealand Highlights: New Zealand Stuns Indian Top Order with Top-Notch Fielding
India had to face the brutality of the Kiwi pacers, who were very accurate with their controlled line and lengths added along with varied pace. However, what troubled the batters more was the stunning fielding from Kiwi fielders, who choked the opposition with stunning grabs and also restricted them from rotating the strike.
Glenn Phillips and Kane Williamson were the highlights of the Kiwi fielders, who made some stunning grabs out of thin air that gave New Zealand the breakthroughs at crucial junctures of the game.
India vs New Zealand Highlights: Adamant Shreyas and Hard-hitting Pandya hand India some score to defend
After the Indian top order was dismissed for just 25 runs, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel had to rescue India’s innings from falling apart. The Indian middle order did a fairly good job, despite scoring runs that that turned out to be difficult during the initial overs.
Both Iyer and Axar kept their cool and battled the Kiwi attack until the 20th over, after which they got some runs off spinners Bracewell and Santner. Axar Patel looked very promising playing a stunning 42-run knock before being dismissed off Rachin Ravindra.
Shreyas continued his innings alongside KL Rahul and nurtured the Indian innings until Indian players struggled late against Mitchell Santner. However, Hardik Pandya, the dynamic finisher, had something in store for the Indians as he finished the Indian innings with a handsome run-a-ball 45, which helped India get to a total worth defending.
With Shreyas, Axar, and Pandya on the scorecard, India reached a decent 249 in their 50 overs, thus setting a target of 250 in front of the Blackcaps.
India vs New Zealand Highlights: Indian spinners too good for ‘Cool’ Kane
The New Zealand batting innings began with Rachin Ravindra falling early to Hardik Pandya after Axar Patel turned superman to send New Zealand’s “Mr. ICC” back to the pavilion.
Rohit Sharma showed some aggression as well when he dared to bring in spinners early on in the powerplay. Axar Patel again delivered with the ball as he choked the run rate for the Kiwis with his tight spell, while Varun Chakravarthy picked up a wicket in his 2nd over.
Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell put on a healthy partnership until Kuldeep got Mitchell plumb in front of the wicket. Sir Jadeja would never be kept away from action, as he slowly got drift off the surface with the old ball offering a lack of shine and got the key wicket of in-form Tom Latham.
Glenn Phillips, who looked promising for Kiwis, hit a six off Chakravarthy, but India’s only change coming into the third game of the Champions Trophy had tricks up his sleeve, as he got the better of the big-hitting batter. Phillips was trapped LBW with a spinning full-length delivery from Chakravarthy. Chakravarthy strikes twice in two overs, first Phillips, then Bracewell; New Zealand’s full middle order was sent back LBW by Indian spinners.
Axar Patel finally got the much-awaited job as he dismissed Kane Williamson in the final delivery of his spell. Varun Chakravarthy just has his day there, Mitchell Santner bold with a seam-up drifter that takes off Santner’s off-stump.
Chakravarthy’s 5-for on Champions Trophy debut is best ever figures for any Indian bowler on debut in an ICC 50-over tournament. He is now in contention for the semi-final playing 11.
For the India vs New Zealand Scorecard (visit) click on this Link
India vs. New Zealand: India becomes the only team to end the group stage with 6 points
India has turned out to be the first and only team in this year’s ICC Champions Trophy to have ended their group-stage campaign with 6 points, winning over New Zealand by 44 runs.
Though Australia and South Africa also ended their campaign undefeated, rain-affected draws could not give them a 6-point lead in the group stage games.
| Position | Teams | Matches Played | Matches Won | Lost | N/R | Net Run-Rate | Points |
| 1 | India | 03 | 03 | 0 | 0 | +0.576 | 6 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 03 | 02 | 01 | 0 | +0.433 | 4 |
| 3 | Bangladesh | 03 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -0.443 | 1 |
| 4 | Pakistan | 03 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -1.087 | 1 |
India vs Australia in Semi-final 1 of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy
Finally, India has the last laugh in a low-scoring thriller as Indian bowlers successfully restrict the opposition from chasing the 250-run target. Kane Williamson looked very good as he battled alone against the Indian spinners, though he was dropped by Rahul off Jadeja on 68.
India will now face the Aussies in the semi-finals to be played in Dubai on the 4th of March. This will be a thrilling encounter, marking a rematch of the World Cup final, back in India in 2023. However, India would undoubtedly be the heavyweights, with their matches being played in the same venue of Dubai, their spinners coming in handy, and Australia lacking most of their big boys from the team that lifted the World Cup two years ago in India.
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