New Zealand got off to a good start against India in the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Following captain Mitchell Santner’s decision to bat after winning the toss, Rachin Ravindra and Will Young formed a good opening stand.
In the seventh over, India’s Mohammed Shami had a chance to dismiss Rachin, but he dropped a catch off his own bowling. The ball, hit by Ravindra, went to Shami’s left hand, and despite an attempt to catch it, he failed. Shami signaled for the physio as he suffered a blow to his left hand, which started bleeding. After receiving treatment, he resumed bowling after five minutes.
This was not the first instance of Shami dropping a catch off his bowling in the Champions Trophy. He had dropped two catches against Australia in the semi-final a week ago.
Rachin Ravindra too received a second lease of life in the eighth over when he edged a Varun Chakravarthy ball. Shreyas Iyer, though, was unable to hold the catch in the deep. The partnership of Ravindra and Young then became the highest New Zealand opening stand in the 2025 Champions Trophy with 57 runs. Varun Chakravarthy ended the partnership, however, by getting Young out for 15 runs off 23 balls.
Earlier, New Zealand skipper Santner decided to bat first after winning the toss. Pacer Matt Henry was not fit to play and was replaced by Nathan Smith in the playing XI. India also kept the same XI that they had played in the semi-final against Australia.
India captain Rohit Sharma voiced that even though they lost the toss for the 12th time in a row in ODIs, they were optimistic about their own capability to adjust whether they batted or bowled first. “At the end of the day, what’s important is how well you want to play,” he asserted. “We’ve discussed not paying attention to the toss and playing well.”
