Tag: INDVNZ

DUBAI: India’s batting maestro Virat Kohli shared his thoughts following the Men in Blue’s hard-fought victory over New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final, held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Kohli, played a pivotal role in the Indian team’s undefeated run in the tournament, scoring 218 runs in five innings, including a masterful knock against arch-rivals Pakistan.

While no immediate retirement announcements were made, the iconic batter noted that the Indian team is in excellent hands following their victory against the Black Caps.

“It’s been amazing, we wanted to bounce back after a tough Australia tour. Lovely playing with a bunch of amazing youngsters. They’re stepping up and taking India in the right direction,” he said.

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“After playing for so long, you look forward to playing under pressure. To win titles, the whole team has to step up in different games.”

“People have played such impactful knocks and had spells, that collective effort is what has done it for us,” added Kohli.

The right-hander shed light on his experience of playing for so long, mentioning the lessons learned.

“I try to speak to these guys, try to share my experience, tell them how I’ve played for so long,” he explained.

“When you leave, you want to leave in a better position. So many impactful knocks Gill, Shreyas, Rahul, et al have played.” Kohli stated.

He elaborated on Team India’s strategy and conveyed his best wishes for New Zealand stalwart Kane Williamson.

Catch every Champions Trophy update here!

“The team is in good hands. We’ve always been in awe of what NZ can do with limited no. of players. They come in with a set plan. Every fielder knows where the bowler will bowl.”

“They have immense belief in their skills, best fielding side. Huge shoutout to them. Sad to see a very good friend (Kane Williamson) on the losing side, only love between us,” concluded Kohli.

Read: Dominant India thump New Zealand to lift 2025 Champions Trophy

DUBAI: New Zealand allrounder Glenn Phillips took an incredible catch to dismiss Indian opener Shubman Gill during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final here at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill had built a solid opening partnership, scoring 105 runs together, and their strong performance needed a spectacular play to break the momentum.

Glenn Phillips stepped up at the perfect moment, making an incredible catch that sent India’s vice-captain back to the pavilion.

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During the 19th over, Mitchell Santner bowled a flighted delivery outside off stump. Shubman Gill attempted a drive towards the cover area, and although few expected it to lead to a catch, Glenn Phillips executed an incredible effort to take a spectacular catch.

 

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 Earlier, New Zealand set India 252 to win in the highly anticipated final, thanks to Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell’s batting.

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Daryl Mitchell scored an anchoring fifty, followed by Michael Bracewell’s unbeaten 53-run knock, which set India a 252-run target in the Champions Trophy 2025 final.

Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

New Zealand: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Kyle Jamieson, William ORourke, Nathan Smith

Read: Here’s why Kane Williamson is not fielding in Champions Trophy final

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finalists have been confirmed, after India thrashed New Zealand in the final group-stage game of the tournament (today) on Sunday.

India will face Australia in the first semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday, 5 March. New Zealand will take on South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday, 6 March.

South Africa topped Group B, with Australia finishing second, just a point behind. India, who finished top of Group A, will play Australia at the Dubai International Stadium on March 5.

The second semi-final will see South Africa face New Zealand at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on 6 March.

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The winners of these two matches will meet in the final on Sunday, 9 March, with the venue yet to be confirmed.

It is important to mention that the full implications of India’s refusal to play Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan were laid bare on Sunday as Australia and South Africa waited to find out whether they will play their semi-finals in Lahore or Dubai this week.

Political tensions between the neighbours mean India has not played a cricket match in Pakistan since 2008, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was not inclined to change the policy for the Champions Trophy, citing government advice over security issues.

As a result, although the rest of the tournament is taking place in Pakistan, India played all of its group matches in Dubai and will stay put for Tuesday’s semi-final and the final next Sunday if it makes it through.

Read: Champions Trophy: Chakaravarthy’s five-fer rattles New Zealand as India tops Group A

DUBAI: New Zealand allrounder Glenn Phillips pulled off an incredible one-handed catch to dismiss India batting maestro Virat Kohli during their Champions Trophy 2025 match here at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

In the final group-stage game, after choosing to bowl, New Zealand effectively limited the strong batting lineup of India to 249 runs for 9 wickets in their 50 overs with excellent bowling and outstanding fielding.

Kohli, who came to bat after the early dismissal of Shubman Gill in the third over, started his innings strongly, scoring 11 runs off 14 balls with two fours. However, his innings was cut short by Phillips’ remarkable fielding.

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The brilliant catch occurred in the seventh over when Kohli sent a short and wide delivery from Matt Henry towards the point region.

Glenn Phillips made an impressive leap to catch the ball, which had initially passed him. Both Virat Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma, who was watching from the stands, were visibly surprised when they saw the replay as he walked back to the dressing room.

 

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It’s important to note that the winner of this match would lead Group A and advance to face Australia, the second-placed team in Group B, in the semi-finals.

The losing team would compete against South Africa in the next stage of the tournament.

Read: Champions Trophy: Matt Henry’s five-wicket haul restricts India to 249 against New Zealand

DUBAI: Mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy’s five-wicket haul powered India to a victory against New Zealand by 44 runs in the 12th match of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 here at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

With this victory, India claimed the top position in Group A, confirming the semi-finalist teams for the Champions Trophy.

In their pursuit of a target of 250 on a slow-paced pitch in Dubai, New Zealand was bowled out for 205, largely due to superb bowling from the Indian spinners.

Kane Williamson was the top scorer for the Black Caps with a determined innings of 81 off 120 deliveries, laced with seven effortless fours.

New Zealand’s chase started poorly, with Rachin Ravindra, the centurion from the previous match, getting out early for just 6 runs.

Following this early setback, Kane Williamson partnered with Will Young to stabilize the innings, and the duo put together a 32-run partnership before Chakaravarthy bowled out Young.

India bowlers consistently applied pressure on New Zealand, taking wickets at regular intervals, which severely hindered their progress.

Despite this, Kane Williamson fought hard, remaining at the crease until he was dismissed in the 41st over.

Mitchell Santner, the New Zealand skipper, also made a notable contribution, scoring 28 runs off 31 balls, including two sixes and one four, but he couldn’t help his team cross the finishing line against disciplined bowling of India.

For India, Varun Chakaravarthy was the star of the show with his five-wicket haul, while Kuldeep Yadav provided strong support, taking two wickets.

Earlier, Matt Henry took five wickets restricting India to 249-9 in their allocated 50 overs.

After choosing to bowl, New Zealand effectively limited Team India strong batting lineup to 249 runs for 9 wickets in their 50 overs with excellent bowling and outstanding fielding.

India’s top three were removed inside powerplay. Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson dismissed Rohit Sharma(15) and Shubman Gill (2).

Virat Kohli (11), playing in his 300th One-Day International, was caught by Glenn Phillips, who took a stunning catch to dismiss the stalwart.

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India were 30-3 when Axar Patel joined Shreyas Iyer at the crease. Both players forged a vital 98-run stand to take their team to 128 in 29.2 overs. Patel was caught off Rachin Ravindra’s bowling.

His 42 off 61 deliveries featured three fours and one six. Following Axar’s wicket, KL Rahul joined Shreyas Iyer and added another 44-run partnership.

Iyer’s well-crafted knock of 79 ended courtesy of Will O’Rourke bowling.

He remained the top-scorer for India with a 98-ball 79, comprised of four fours and two sixes.

Following his dismissal, India fell to 223/7 in 45.5 overs after losing two additional wickets in rapid succession.

Nevertheless, Hardik Pandya’s quick innings of 45 runs at the end strengthened India’s total.

For New Zealand, Matt Henry was the top bowler claiming 5 wickets for 42 runs in eight overs, while Kyle Jamieson, O’Rourke, Mitchell Santner, and Ravindra each took one wicket.

Playing XIs

New Zealand: Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Will O’Rourke

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

Read: Sunil Gavaskar slams former England captains, defends India’s Dubai advantage

India batting maestro Virat Kohli is on the verge of achieving multiple milestones in ODI cricket during the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash against New Zealand, set to be played on Sunday at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Kohli, who scored a brilliant century against Pakistan, will be eyeing West Indian explosive batter Chris Gayle’s record of most runs in the multi-nation tournament.

India top order batter needs to score at least 142 runs against the New Zealand to become the leading run scorer in the tournament history.

Most runs in Champions Trophy:

• Chris Gayle (West Indies)  17 matches — 791 runs
• Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) 22 matches — 742 runs
• Shikhar Dhawan (India)  10 matches — 701
• Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) 22 matches — 683
• Sourav Ganguly (India) 13 matches — 665
• Jacques Kallis (South Africa) 17 matches — 653
• Virat Kohli (India) 15 matches — 651

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Furthermore, the right-handed batter has the opportunity to achieve another milestone by surpassing his compatriot Shikhar Dhawan’s record, thus becoming Team India’s highest scorer in the multi-nation tournament. He needs to score 51 runs to break this record.

Most runs for Indian in Champions Trophy:

• Shikhar Dhawan 10 matches — 701 runs
• Sourav Ganguly 13 matches — 665
• Virat Kohli 15 matches — 651 runs

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Kohli became the fastest batter to score 14,000 ODI runs on Sunday (23 February) during India’s match against arch-rivals Pakistan. He could also become the second leading run scorer in ODI cricket if he scores at least 150 runs against New Zealand.

Virat Kohli will shatter Kumar Sangakkara’s record and become the second leading run scorer in ODIs.

Most runs in ODI Cricket

1. Sachin Tendulkar India 463 matches — 18,426
2. Kumar Sangakkara Sri Lanka 404 matches — 14,234
3. Virat Kohli India 299 matches — 14,085

READ: South Africa outclass England to march into Champions Trophy semis

India’s top-order batter, Shubman Gill, is likely to lead the side in their last ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 group-stage fixture against New Zealand in Dubai.

According to Indian media outlets, India’s regular captain Rohit Sharma is likely to miss the upcoming match.

Sharma pulled his hamstring while fielding early in the Pakistan inning and left the field for a brief period.

While he returned to the field after receiving assistance from the team physio, Rohit Sharma looked uncomfortable.

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Reports said that the India captain was the only batter who did not participate in the team’s practice session ahead of their Champions Trophy 2025 game against New Zealand.

While team management and medical staff were closely monitoring Rohit Sharma’s condition, his opening partner Shubman Gill might lead the side in case he fails to get fit for the Champions Trophy 2025 game.

India are set to face New Zealand on 2 March in Dubai as the two teams look to secure the top spot in Group A.

The side got off to a flying start in the eight-team tournament after beating Bangladesh in their opening game.

Catch every Champions Trophy update here!

India qualified for the semi-final after beating Pakistan in the blockbuster IND vs PAK clash on 23 February.

India squad for Champions Trophy 2025:

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakaravarthy.

READ: Champions Trophy: Here’s how Afghanistan can still qualify for semi-final

SOUTHAMPTON: India captain Virat Kohli held firm in the face of accurate New Zealand pace bowling as the inaugural World Test Championship final at Southampton eventually got going on Saturday.
After Friday’s first day was washed out without a ball bowled, India were 146-3 when the third of the day’s stoppages for bad light led to an early close even though the floodlights were on full beam.
Kohli was 44 not out, with the star batsman having hit just one boundary in 124 balls faced.
Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane was 29 not out after adding an unbroken 58 for the fourth wicket with Kohli.
Towering quick Kyle Jamieson ended the day with remarkable figures of 1-14 in 14 overs.
“It’s probably pretty even at the moment,” Jamieson told reporters after stumps. “It was a good day of Test cricket. They (India) put away the bad balls really well.”
India batting coach Vikram Rathour added: “Anything more than 250 plus would be a reasonable score under the conditions.”
Only 64.4 overs out of 180 scheduled for the first two days have so far been bowled.
But under a special provision for this final, match referee Chris Broad can add an extra day onto the standard maximum five for a men’s Test if he decides an extension is needed to compensate for time lost to bad weather earlier in the game.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss in overcast conditions that favoured his five-man pace attack.
But Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill batted impressively in an opening stand of 62.
India, however, lost three wickets either side of lunch to be 88-3.
Their position might have been worse had Kohli been given out caught behind down the legside off left-arm quick Trent Boult on 17.
But amid some on-field confusion, an umpire review led to replays that indicated Kohli had not hit the ball.
India’s openers made a fine start amid New Zealand’s swing and seam.
Rohit confidently clipped the first ball of the match, from Tim Southee, off his pads for three while Gill showed his class by driving Jamieson down the ground for four.

– Stylish Rohit –

Rohit brought up the 50 partnership with a stylish cover-driven four off all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme.
The openers’ form was all the more impressive given this was India’s first Test since March whereas only last week New Zealand completed a 1-0 series win over England with an eight-wicket victory at Edgbaston.
But Rohit’s 68-ball innings, featuring six fours, ended when he edged a late-swinging delivery from Jamieson to third slip where Southee held an excellent low catch, diving to his right.
Gill followed soon afterwards for 28, edging aggressive left-armer Neil Wagner to BJ Watling in what the New Zealand wicketkeeper has said will be his last match before retirement.
It took Cheteshwar Pujara 51 minutes and 36 balls to get off the mark, a cut four off medium-pacer de Grandhomme greeted by huge cheers from India fans in the crowd.
But, as happened several times during India’s come-from-behind series win in Australia this year, Pujara was hit on the helmet by a bouncer after missing a pull off Wagner.
Pujara’s painstaking eight off 54 balls ended when he was lbw to a Boult inswinger that cut back sharply off the pitch.
This match, the culmination of two years of series between the leading Test nations, is worth $1.6 million to the winners and $800,000 to the runners-up.
The India team wore black armbands Saturday as a mark of respect for Milkha Singh following the national track athletics legend’s death from Covid-19 at the age of 91.

SOUTHAMPTON: The inaugural World Test Championship final suffered a setback at the outset after persistent rain meant there was no play at all between India and New Zealand on Friday’s opening day at Southampton.
The toss should have taken place at 10:00 am local time (0900 GMT), with the match getting under way 30 minutes later, but heavy overnight and early morning rain meant the pitch and square at the Hampshire Bowl remained fully covered.
Several more downpours hit the ground and it was no surprise when the umpires abandoned play for the day at 2:48 pm (1348 GMT).
While a standard Test lasts a maximum of five days, this fixture can be extended into a sixth day should match referee Chris Broad decide that it is the only way to make-up time lost in the game to bad weather.
But former England batsman Broad won’t be called on to make such a decision until the fifth day as the match could be over before then in any event.
This fixture, worth $1.6 million to the winners and $800,000 to the runners-up, represents the culmination of a two-year programme of series to crown a champion team in men’s Test cricket, with India and New Zealand topping the qualifying table.
India captain Virat Kohli, however, questioned whether a one-off game could decide the world’s best Test side by saying Thursday: “If you’re talking about Test cricket and deciding who is the best team in the world on one game over a period of five days, that is not the reality of the truth.”
The star batsman added: “For me, this is another Test match that has to be played.”
India named their team on Thursday, with the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami as well as spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja all included in the same Test XI for the first time.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, recovered from an elbow injury that saw him miss the Blackcaps’ series-clinching win over England at Edgbaston last week, said he would delay announcing his side until the toss.
India too could yet change their side, as teams don’t have to be confirmed until the toss takes place.

READ: India, New Zealand to fight for first-ever ICC WTC Final