Picture Credit: X
During their third and final Group A clash against New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the Indian cricket team lost three quick wickets in the first powerplay stage at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the UAE. Following that, the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel shared a vital 98-run stand for the fourth wicket, to resurrect the Indian innings, setting up the possibility of posting a competitive total for New Zealand to chase down later on, which led to some appreciation for them on the social media platform X.
For the unversed, after New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner chose to field first, their opening bowlers Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson were right on the money in front of a formidable Indian batting lineup. Shubman Gill lost his wicket to Matt Henry, lbw for two runs in seven balls, and shortly after, Kyle Jamieson got Rohit Sharma for 15 off 17 to mistime a pull shot, allowing Will Young to take a simple catch at short midwicket region.
Virat Kohli (11 off 14) didn’t stay at the crease for any length of time either, smashing the ball towards the point region where Glenn Phillips took a sensational catch off the bowling off Matt Henry. Following that, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel took some time to settle into their respective innings before both of them opened up their shoulders to hit a few boundaries.
After putting India in a position of some ease, Axar Patel lost his wicket to Rachin Ravindra for 42 off 61, an innings that included three fours and a maximum. Following the loss of his partner’s wicket at the other end, Shreyas Iyer kept the momentum of the innings going, getting up to 79 runs in 98 balls with four fours and two maximums before Will O’Rourke sent him back into the pavilion.
Here are some of the posts on X for Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel’s partnership:
Below are the playing XIs of New Zealand and India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash:
New Zealand: Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Will O'Rourke
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
