By Karan Agrawal 
India registered a hard-fought win against New Zealand in their last group match of the Champions Trophy. The Rohit Sharma led side topped Group A with this win and will now take on Australia in the first semi final in Dubai on March 4. India hasn’t lost a match in ICC tournaments since the start of the 2024 T20 World Cup held in the USA and West Indies, followed by an unbeaten run in the ongoing Champions Trophy, where the Men In Blue have won all three matches they have played so far. Interestingly, India has won 21 of their last 23 matches in ICC limited-overs tournaments, having only lost the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Expert’s Speak
Reacting to India’s unbeaten run in ICC tournaments, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said, “India won the last T20 World Cup (in 2024) and played in the final (of 50-over in 2023). It is a very strong team in white-ball cricket, no matter who is on the opposite side. It has the capability to defeat anyone.” Sourav Gangluy also showered praise on Mohammed Shami, who returned to international cricket after 15 months in the limited-overs series against England, followed by a memorable debut in the Champions Trophy against Bangladesh, where the fast bowler picked up five wickets. “Injury happen to anyone. It is a part of a fast bowler’s career. He has won so many matches for India with (Jasprit) Bumrah. He is such a fine bowler,” he added.
The Performance
India made a strong comeback in their last group match against New Zealand after being reduced to 30/3 in six overs. The 2013 Champions Trophy winners were guided to a fighting score of 249 runs courtesy of a 98-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel, with Iyer scoring a well-crafted half-century. The duo was well supported by Hardik Pandya, who played a crucial knock of run a ball 45 in the death overs. Chasing 250 runs to win, New Zealand had no answers to the spin of Varun Chakravarthy, who picked up a five-wicket haul on his Champions Trophy debut.
Captain’s Corner
Talking about the win against New Zealand, Indian captain Rohit Sharma said, “Important to finish on a high. NZ are a good team who are playing some good cricket. Very important to get a good result, we played a perfect game. It was important at that stage (after being 30/3) to build a partnership, and I thought we got to a good total. We have the quality in our bowling to defend that total.”