Varun Chakravarthy’s five-wicket haul and Shreyas Iyer’s composed 98-ball 79 propelled India to a comprehensive 44-run victory over New Zealand in the 12th match of the Champions Trophy 2025 at Dubai Stadium. Chasing a target of 250, New Zealand was bundled out for 205 in just 46 overs, with wickets falling rapidly despite a resilient 81 from Kane Williamson, who struck seven boundaries. Other batsmen—Will Young (22), Rachin Ravindra (6), Daryl Mitchell (17), Tom Latham (14), Glenn Phillips (12), Michael Bracewell (2), along with contributions from Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke—failed to build momentum, while Kyle Jamieson chipped in an unbeaten 9 off 4 balls.
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For India, the standout performance came from Varun Chakravarthy (5-42) and Kuldeep Yadav (2-56), with additional wickets taken by Hardik Pandya (1-22), Axar Patel (1-32), and Ravindra Jadeja (1-36).
This victory paves the way for India to face Australia in the first semi-final at Dubai on March 4, while New Zealand will return to Pakistan to take on South Africa in the second semi-final at the revamped Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on March 5.
In a related note, during the final group match of the tournament at Dubai, Matt Henry’s impressive five-for (5-42) had restricted India to 249-9. Although India’s batting got off to a shaky start—losing Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli for a mere 30 runs—Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel steadied the innings, with Iyer scoring a measured 79 off 98 balls (with four boundaries and two sixes), Axar Patel 42 off 61 balls (three boundaries and a six), KL Rahul 23 off 29 balls, Hardik Pandya 45 run-a-ball (with four boundaries and two sixes), Ravindra Jadeja 16 off 20 balls, Mohammed Shami 5 off 8 balls, and Kuldeep Yadav 1 off 1 ball. On the bowling side for New Zealand, besides Matt Henry’s performance, Kyle Jamieson (1-31), Will O’Rourke (1-47), Mitchell Santner (1-41), and Rachin Ravindra (1-31) contributed with the ball.
