On Sunday, March 2, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, Team India (IND) defeated New Zealand (NZ) by scoring 249/9 after reaching their 50-over quota in Match 12 of the ongoing Champions Trophy.
By the end of the seventh over of the innings, the top-order of Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, and Rohit Sharma had been dismissed, putting the Men in Blue to the test early on. Glenn Phillips’ spectacular display of fielding skill at backward point was particularly responsible for Kohli’s wicket. From that point on, Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer planned the rescue operation for their side.
Only when Axar left for 42 on the second delivery of the 30th over did India lose a wicket. KL Iyer was joined in the middle by Rahul, who gave Mitchell Santner his first wicket of the afternoon but was also dismissed for a knock of 23 runs off 29 balls. Iyer left for a calm 79 (98) in the 37th over, and Hardik Pandya stepped out to the middle to take his place. Hardik took six balls to get off the mark in his lethargic start.
On his fifteenth delivery, the all-rounder hit his maiden maximum and, consequently, his first boundary. The Black Caps successfully avoided giving up any boundaries between overs 42 and 44, demonstrating that they were spot on with their variations. Hardik finally found his footing in the last over of India’s innings, taking Kyle Jamieson for 15 runs to give the scoreboard a much-needed boost. In his eleventh outing against India, Matt Henry claimed his first five-wicket haul thanks to a handful of wickets in the last over of the innings.
Check out how X reacted to the first innings of the India-New Zealand CT 2025 clash:
250 is the target for kiwis india going with 4 spinners. The thing to be noted is their batsman played cricket in pakistan before visiting dubai in perfect batting paradise and their bowlers bowl in bowling hell. Let’s see #INDvsNZ #ChampionsTrophy
— Hulk (@ashutosh77940) March 2, 2025
New Zealand have succeeded in restricting India in what seems like a below par score #INDvsNZ
— Vinay K (@vinaysk2) March 2, 2025
India doing everything possible to avoid a clash with Aussies 😁 #IndvsNZ
— Mama Miyan (@mamaNmiyan) March 2, 2025
What an effort shown by Newzealand team against India team,
Bowling 10/10
Fielding 10/10#INDvsNZ #ChampionsTrophy— Md Sharique Raza (@MdShariqueRaza8) March 2, 2025
Best fielding side right now in cricket.
Hats off to New zealand🏏#INDvsNZ— Prashant Meena (@iprashantmeena) March 2, 2025
#Phillips Phillips everywhere, not a single drop. #INDvsNZ
— Hooloovoo (@The_Hooloovoo) March 2, 2025
Never seen such incredible fielding moments in one game! Wow NZ!👏👏#IndvNZ
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) March 2, 2025
India
