Chakravarthy spins India past New Zealand setting up semi-final clash with Australia

Varun Chakravarthy delivered an impressive performance, taking 5 wickets for 42 runs, as India secured a victory over New Zealand by 44 runs on Sunday, thereby advancing to a semi-final encounter against Australia in the Champions Trophy.

India emerged victorious in all three of their group stage matches, finishing at the top of Group A. They are scheduled to compete in the first semi-final of the 50-over tournament in Dubai on Tuesday.

"Important to finish on a high," India skipper Rohit Sharma said after the win.

"New Zealand are a good team who are playing some good cricket. Very important to get a good result, we played a perfect game."

New Zealand is set to face the Group B champions, South Africa, in Lahore on Wednesday.

India is scheduled to play all of their matches at the Dubai International Stadium, having declined to tour the host nation, Pakistan, due to security concerns.

Rohit's squad was defeated by Australia in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, which took place in Ahmedabad.

"Australia has a rich history of playing ICC tournaments well, but it is about us and what we want to do well on that particular day," said Rohit.

"It will be a great contest, looking forward to that. Hopefully we can stitch one towards us."

Australia and South Africa were required to make the journey to Dubai from Pakistan, uncertain of their playing status, as India had been informed prior to the tournament that they would compete in the first semi-final if they qualified, regardless of their group standings.

South Africa will now return to Pakistan in preparation for their upcoming match against New Zealand.

Shreyas Iyer contributed 79 runs, while Hardik Pandya added a crucial 45 runs late in the innings, leading India to a total of 249-9 after they were asked to bat first.

New Zealand's pace bowler Matt Henry excelled with impressive figures of 5 wickets for 42 runs in his eight overs.

"The key for us was getting wickets in the powerplay, and that was good to see," New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said.

"Our next game is in Lahore where Henry will be massive."

Chakravarthy achieved his first five-wicket haul in One Day Internationals during only his second match, as India successfully bowled out New Zealand for 205 runs in 45.3 overs, despite a commendable innings of 81 from Kane Williamson.

Williamson was fortunate to survive two dropped catches at scores of 17 and 68 during his 120-ball innings before he was ultimately stumped by Axar Patel.

New Zealand's innings began poorly with the early dismissal of Rachin Ravindra, who was caught brilliantly by Patel after scoring just six runs.

Chakravarthy then ended Will Young's innings at 22, clean bowling him with a well-executed googly.

Although Williamson remained resolute, he struggled to find a reliable partner, as Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham were dismissed for 17 and 14 runs, respectively.

India's spinners excelled in favorable conditions, with Kuldeep Yadav dismissing Mitchell and Ravindra Jadeja trapping Latham leg before wicket.

In the midst of these dismissals, Williamson struck a boundary off Jadeja to bring up his 47th ODI half-century, yet India continued to take wickets at regular intervals.

Earlier in the match, India found themselves in a precarious position at 30 for 3 when Virat Kohli, in his 300th ODI, fell to a remarkable one-handed catch by Glenn Phillips.

Phillips made an impressive catch at backward point, dismissing Kohli for 11 runs off Henry, leaving Kohli in disbelief as he walked off to a stunned silence.

Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel, who contributed 42 runs, formed a crucial partnership of 98 for the fourth wicket, helping to stabilize the innings against a disciplined New Zealand bowling attack.

Another spectacular catch, this time by Williamson, who leaped to his left at backward point to secure a one-handed catch close to the ground, resulted in Jadeja's dismissal for 16 runs off Henry.

Hardik Pandya played a brisk innings, hitting four fours and two sixes, which ultimately provided India with a total sufficient for victory.

SportsLigue