New Zealand’s Matt Henry delivered a fantastic bowling display, claiming 5 wickets for 42 runs and limiting India to a total of 249 in their Champions Trophy 2025 Group A match. The game took place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, which offered a slow pitch, prompting India to include four spin bowlers in their team. Both teams, already qualified for the next stage, engaged in an intriguing contest with momentum shifting throughout the first innings.
New Zealand will be the happier side at the innings break, largely due to their excellent bowling start and energetic fielding after winning the coin toss.
Similar to their previous World Cup semi-final encounter in Manchester, India’s top order struggled against Henry’s bowling. After initially bowling slightly short, Henry adjusted his length, pitching the ball fuller and successfully trapping the in-form Shubman Gill LBW. Virat Kohli attempted to disrupt Henry’s rhythm and managed to elicit a short, wide delivery. However, Kohli’s attempted cut shot was brilliantly caught by a diving Glenn Phillips. Earlier, captain Rohit Sharma mistimed a pull shot, sending the ball straight to mid-wicket.
India found themselves in early trouble at 30 for 3. Notably, the last instance of India being 3 wickets down for 46 or fewer runs within the first 15 overs was six years prior, during their famous match at Old Trafford. Just like in that game, the pairing of a left-handed and right-handed batsman provided some stability. Axar Patel, batting at number 5, joined Shreyas Iyer, and together they began to rebuild the innings. Their partnership started cautiously, enduring 51 deliveries without scoring a boundary. Axar, at one point, had scored only five runs off 24 balls before hitting a sweep shot for four against Michael Bracewell.
Bracewell proved to be the least effective among New Zealand’s spin bowlers, often missing his intended lengths. This might have been partly due to Iyer’s approach of stepping forward to Bracewell deliveries, creating the impression of stepping out, only to then rock back and find the boundary. Iyer also hit three boundaries in an over from William O’Rourke, helping India surpass 100 runs in the 25th over. He received valuable support from Axar, who effectively countered New Zealand’s spin attack.
Iyer reached a vital half-century off 75 balls, continuing his impressive ODI record against New Zealand, marking his sixth 50+ score in eight innings. However, as seen in the previous match at this venue, starting innings on this pitch was challenging for batters. The end of the 98-run partnership proved to be detrimental for India. Axar was dismissed for 42, caught at short fine-leg after attempting a paddle shot.
Iyer and KL Rahul then formed a quick partnership for the fifth wicket. However, Iyer’s tendency to attack short balls led to his dismissal when a top-edged pull shot found a fielder, ending his excellent innings at 79. Shortly after, Rahul was also dismissed, deceived by a sharp turning delivery from Mitchell Santner that caught his edge on its way to the wicketkeeper.
At 182 for 6 in the 40th over, India risked being bowled out before completing their full 50 overs. But Hardik Pandya played a crucial innings of 45 lower down the batting order, forming a 41-run partnership with Jadeja. This promising stand was also broken by Henry, aided by an outstanding catch from Kane Williamson at backward point to dismiss Jadeja. Henry added two more wickets in the final over, completing his five-wicket haul. India ultimately scored only eight runs more than Pakistan had managed against New Zealand.
Brief scores: India 249 in 50 overs (Shreyas Iyer 79, Hardik Pandya 45; Matt Henry 5-42) vs New Zealand
