- By Namrata Vijay
- Sun, 09 Mar 2025 10:13 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
IND vs NZ ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Final: Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill gave the Men in Blue a flying start by playing aggressively until the first drinks break was introduced during the second innings of the ongoing summit clash. While chasing a gettable target of 252 runs, India was 103/0 as it was the only time that they stitched a partnership of 100 runs for the first wicket in the history of the final of this tournament. The match was slipping away from the Black Caps quickly.
The atmosphere in New Zealand's dressing room became quite intense. Star batter Kane Williamson, who had sustained an injury, couldn't field as he had injured his quad while batting. But he was seen getting involved in an animated discussion. He was seen shouting and moving his arms aggressively.
When Kane Williamson gave his pep talk, skipper Mitchell Santner then gave a pep talk as well. He was trying to get his team all riled up and the Kiwis are hardly seen getting pumped up like this as it's not every day that you play a Champions Trophy final.
This pep talk did work in their favor as all-rounder Glenn Phillips once again took a stunning one-handed catch and dismissed Shubman Gill ending the partnership between Rohit Sharma and Gill. Glenn Phillips has taken gravity-defying catches throughout this mega-event.
This dismissal gave the Kiwis the much-needed breakthrough and helped them bounce back in the match. And in the next over itself, Michael Bracewell dismissed Virat Kohli by LBW. India's star batter closed the face of his bat too early. The ball turned in and hit his pads. He did take the review but it was of no use.
Santner, Bracewell, and Rachin Ravindra piled the pressure on the Men in Blue just like Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy during the first innings.
Rohit and Shreyas were seen having a hard time rotating the strike. Rohit mistimed the shot as he went down the track as he stepped out of the crease. The New Zealand wicket-keeper then removed the bails quickly.
After the drinks break, the Rohit Sharma-led side suffered a mini collapse as they lost three wickets and scored 19 runs in 8.1 overs. They went from 103/0 to 122/3.
Post 30 overs, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel scored 19 and four runs as they needed 116 runs to win the match in 20 overs.
The Mitchell Santner-led side posted a target of 251/7 as the Indian bowlers Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy put up a dominating show.
Daryl Mitchell was the highest run-getter as he had scored 63 runs off 101 balls whereas Michael Bracewell, Rachin Ravindra, and Glenn Phillips also made significant contributions.
