New Delhi: India defeated New Zealand by 44 runs in the last group-stage match of the 2025 Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, March 2. The Men in Blue will face Australia in the first semifinal of the tournament in Dubai on Tuesday, March 4, while South Africa will take on New Zealand in the second semifinal at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday, March 5.
Chasing the target of 250 runs, New Zealand got off to a poor start as Hardik Pandya removed Rachin Ravindra on 6 runs, thanks to a sensational diving catch from Axar Patel at third-man. Will Young and Williamson stitched a 32-run partnership for the second wicket, but the opener was castled by Varun Chakravarthy.
Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson scored runs slowly as the Indian spinners started dominating the match. Kuldeep Yadav removed Mitchell and the middle order batters also failed to make any contribution with the bat. Williamson was the lone warrior in the run-chase, but he too was stumped off Axar Patel’s final delivery. Santner batted well, but the match was too far gone by then. Chakravarthy picked up five wickets, and Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets while Jadeja, Axar and Pandya picked up 1 wicket each.
Iyer, Pandya shine with the bat
India posted a competitive total on the board after losing early wickets. Matt Henry dismissed Shubman Gill early in the innings, while Jamieson removed skipper Rohit on 15 runs. Glenn Phillips took a splendid catch at backward point to dismiss Virat Kohli. Shreyas Iyer and Axar forged a 98-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Axar was dismissed on 42 runs thanks to another sharp catch from New Zealand, and Santner removed KL Rahul shortly after. Iyer batted well and scored 79 runs off 98 balls with the help of four boundaries and two maximums. Hardik Pandya amassed a run a ball 45 and helped the team to post a total of 249/9 in 50 overs.
CT 2025 Group A points table
India finished at the top of the Group A points table by winning all three matches, while New Zealand is in second position. The Kiwis won two matches out of the three and lost against Rohit and Co. Bangladesh and Pakistan didn’t manage to win any match in the group stage and finished in third and fourth position, respectively.
| Group A | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Pts | NRR |
| India (Q) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.715 |
| New Zealand (Q) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.267 |
| Bangladesh (E) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -0.443 |
| Pakistan (E) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1.087 |
CT 2025 Group B points table
South Africa and Australia qualified for the semifinals of the Champions Trophy 2025 from group B. The Proteas won 2 matches out of the three, while their match against Australia was abandoned due to rain. The Aussies won one game out of three matches, while their two games were washed due to rain. Afghanistan and England finished in third and fourth place, respectively.
| Group B | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Pts | NRR | |
| South Africa (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2.395 | |
| Australia (Q) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0.475 | |
| Afghanistan (E) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -0.99 | |
| England (E) | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.159 |
Team India defeated New Zealand by 44 runs in the last group stage match of the Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, March 2. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
