Varun Chakravarthy claimed 5-42 as India produced another superb performance to claim seven wickets for 72 runs and scripted a great comeback win against New Zealand in the Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai on Sunday.
Chakravarthy bagged his first five-wicket haul in One-day Internationals and became the third Indian bowler to take a five-wicket haul in the Champions Trophy as the 2023 World Cup finalists bowled out New Zealand for 205 in 45.3 overs after they rode on a fine 79 by Shreyas Iyer and vital contribution of 45 by Hardik Pandya and 42 by Axar Patel to reach a modest total of 249/9 on being asked to bat first at the Dubai International Stadium here.
The 44-run win was India's third win in Group A as they topped the table with three straight wins and set up a semifinal clash with Australia in Dubai on Tuesday (March 4). New Zealand will take on Group B topper South Africa in the second semifinal at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday.
Chakaravarthy, playing just his second ODI, led India’s charge on a slow black soil pitch with a superb 5-42, the best figures by a bowler in the ongoing tournament. India came up with another dominant performance. Chakravarthy thus became the third Indian bowler after Ravindra Jadeja (5-36 vs WI in 2013) and Mohammed Shami (5-53 v BAN in 2025) as the third Indian bowler to claim a fifer in the Champions Trophy.
Incidentally, Chakravarthy, who made his ODI debut against England in Cuttack last month, was playing his first match in the Champions Trophy. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma explained the rationale behind being him for this match into a playing eleven that was functioning like a well-oiled machine since the three-match series against England.
Varun has got something different, wanted to try and see what he had to offer. We got to think a little about what to do for the next game, good headache (on his selection). If he gets it right, very difficult to read him.
Chakaravarthy deceived the Blackcaps batters with his pace and variations to finish with 5-42 in his ten overs on Champions Trophy debut. He claimed the wickets of Will Young (22), Glenn Phillips (17), Michael Bracewell (2), Mitchell Santner (28), and Matt Henry (2) to end New Zealand's resistance.
For New Zealand, Kane Williamson waged a lone battle with a fighting 81 off 120 balls on a tricky pitch, where he relied on nudges, cuts, glances, and inside-out shots for boundaries. But with the Indian spin quartet getting into the act and prising out wickets at regular intervals, the match soon ended in India's favour. Kuldeep Yadav bagged 2-56 while Jadeja took 1-36 and Axar Patel 1-32 to trouble the Blackcaps.
Chakravarthy, who bagged the Player of the Match award, admitted to being nervous as he started his spell, but felt better as things moved on. He said words of encouragement from his teammates soothed his nerves.
I did feel nervous in the initial stages. Not played a lot for India in ODIs, so was nervous. As the game progressed, felt better. Virat, Rohit, Shreyas, Hardik everyone was talking to me and asked me to calm down. Found out last night about play. Was expecting to play for the country and looking forward, but was nervous. It was not a rank-turner but if you bowled in the right places, it helped. The way Kuldeep, Jaddu, and Axar bowled, even the pacers. It was a total team effort.
Earlier, seamer Matt Henry stood tall yet again to pick 5-4 his third five-wicket haul in the 50-over format, as New Zealand restricted India to 249/9 in their 50 overs. The Blackcaps used the generous help offered by the black-soil pitch to good effect and kept India in check.
India were rescued by Shreyas Iyer from a top-order collapse by making a fine 79 and raised 98 runs for the fourth-wicket partnership with Axar Patel, who made a solid 42. Hardik Pandya hammered a run-a-ball 45 to ensure India posted a competitive total.
India captain Rohit Sharma said the win was a morale booster and praised Iyer and Patel for their rescue act.
Very important for us to finish on a high. New Zealand have a good side, playing well in the recent past. (The) Axar-Shreyas partnership was important after losing wickets in the first powerplay. They got us to a good total, with our quality bowlers, we had the confidence to defend that. Momentum is critical in such a short game. Try and win the game, try and do everything right.
Talking about the upcoming semifinal clash with Australia, a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad in which India ended on the losing side, Rohit said it would be a good game.
Mistakes happen but correcting that is important. It is going to be a good game. Australia have a rich history of playing well in ICC tournaments. It’s about us to do things right. We have to be focused on what we need to do on that day. Looking forward to that, hopefully, we can stitch one towards us.
Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner admitted the pitch turned out to be slower than their expectations.
A slower wicket than what we have come up against. India controlled the middle phase. Shreyas batted well and Hardik finished off. Spun more than we thought, spun more than the other games here. Four quality spinners make it tough. (The) Key for us was wickets in the power-play. Kane's form is nice for us. South Africa are a quality side. In those wickets with pace and bounce, they have good four pacers..
Santner said they will now focus on the clash with South Africa to revive their campaign and clinch a place in the final.
