Watch cricket video highlights of Champion’s Trophy 2025 twelfth Match 2025. Between New Zealand and India. Venue of the match will be Dubai.
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Report
India entangled New Zealand to successfully defend a score of 249, marking their sixth consecutive victory against a team that has posed challenges for them recently. They included Varun Chakravarthy among the three spinners already on the field, and he delivered with a five-wicket haul at a venue where a lackluster performance against Pakistan in 2021 significantly hindered his international career. By finishing at the top of their group, India now prepares to face Australia in the semi-final on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, New Zealand and South Africa are set to return to Pakistan for their own semi-final on Wednesday. This match resembled a traditional ODI, characterized by a new ball that seamed and swung during the first innings, followed by a gradual slowdown and increasing grip in the pitch. The absence of any considerable dew made batting progressively more challenging. Shreyas Iyer achieved his slowest fifty, followed by Kane Williamson’s own slow innings, scoring above 80.
India’s spinners maintained constant pressure, but luck and Williamson held them off until they finally broke through, starting with Ravindra Jadeja dismissing Tom Latham lbw on a reverse sweep in the 33rd over. Out of the 30 middle overs, India bowled 29 overs of spin, taking nine wickets while conceding just 166 runs. This marked an improvement compared to their spinners, who had previously been less effective than their opposition in the first two matches.
It seems this improved performance was linked to bowling first when the ball gripped less than it did during the second innings. New Zealand mainly restricted India through seam bowling, with Matt Henry taking five wickets and their spinners allowing 128 runs in 25 overs while taking just two wickets. As usual, Henry was accurate with his bowling, utilizing seam movement, while Kyle Jamieson managed to swing the ball effectively. In a flash, New Zealand had India struggling at 30 for 3, with Glenn Phillips adding Virat Kohli to his collection of stunning catches.
Iyer and Axar Patel steadied India with some classic ODI batting. They played 51 balls without hitting a boundary but refrained from making reckless shots. Iyer transitioned from a score of 12 off 29 balls to 27 off 35 before retreating into a cautious approach, only to open up after facing 63 balls. Axar demonstrated his case for a permanent allrounder position with a composed 42 off 61 during their 98-run partnership.
After scoring 21 runs from 19 short or short-of-a-length deliveries, Iyer eventually fell to a bouncer delivered by Will O’Rourke in the 37th over, a dismissal that compressed India’s scoring potential at the end. Nonetheless, KL Rahul contributed 23 off 29 and Hardik Pandya scored a brisk 45 off 45 balls while occasionally refusing singles when batting alongside the tail-end, enabling India to reach a competitive score.
Hardik later proved to be an effective substitute for Harshit Rana with the new ball, generating some movement in his opening over and getting Rachin Ravindra caught on a shot taken in the air. Spin was introduced soon after, revealing that New Zealand struggled to read Varun from the hand, having faced him collectively for only 34 balls in all T20Is and IPL matches prior to this game. Will Young, who had been a crucial batsman during New Zealand’s Test series victory over India in India, was the first to fail to handle a wrong’un off the pitch and suffered the consequences.
Daryl Mitchell was equally perplexed. India had successfully tied down the batters; the required run rate escalated to six by the 23rd over, with runs coming only in small increments—a nudge here, a paddle there, and the occasional loose delivery. How long could they continue to avoid taking risks? Kuldeep Yadav successfully trapped Mitchell lbw with an outstanding left-arm wristspin delivery, though it also missed Mitchell’s inside edge by a significant margin, which is not typical for an international player.
He also wasted a review that would later grant Michael Bracewell a second chance. The partnership of 40 runs between Williamson and Latham was the most fluid New Zealand had displayed, with Latham’s sweeping shots and Williamson’s elegant flicks providing some momentum. By the time they reached the 30-over mark, New Zealand had exactly half of their target with seven wickets still in hand. However, Jadeja soon outsmarted Latham with a perfectly bowled delivery that pitched well and turned sharply enough to hit the stumps after Latham’s attempt at a reverse sweep.
At that moment, the dynamics of the match shifted. Williamson would need to lead the chase if New Zealand hoped to come close. Varun’s return made that task even more daunting. Phillips misjudged an in-drifting half-volley just after hitting Varun for a six. Then came a crucial wicket. Video analysis indicates that Varun often bowls wrong’uns with a scrambled seam and legbreaks with the seam straight and tilted toward slip.
However, he managed to dismiss Bracewell with a legbreak that had a scrambled seam, creating a new challenge for both batters and analysts. Aware they had only one review remaining, Williamson advised against it, even as the projection indicated that it hadn’t turned enough to impact the stumps. Dropped on 17 and 68, Williamson was unable to make India pay dearly as Axar dismissed him off his final ball of the spell. With the required run rate rising to nine per over, Williamson had no choice but to take a risk, which led him to mistakenly allow a straight delivery to pass by.
Mitchell Santner postponed the inevitable, but Varun concluded his resistance with a different variation: a medium-pace cross-seam delivery at 113 kph that knocked the off stump out. He had four balls remaining to secure a five-wicket haul and accomplished it in just two, as Henry attempted to hit aggressively.
