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On Sunday, March 9, Rohit Sharma-led Team India is taking on New Zealand in the final of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. For the unversed, New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bat first. While it was 15th straight toss defeat for India in ODIs, skipper Rohit Sharma also etched an unwanted record, equalling legend Brian Lara to register 12 straight toss defeats in ODIs.
As the game progressed, Kiwi opener Rachin Ravindra was looking good as he smashed Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami and other bowlers all over the park. But leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav delivered a stunning first-ball wicket to cut short Rachin’s stay in the summit clash.
Kuldeep Yadav cleans up Rachin Ravindra on first-ball of the over in CT 2025 final
With Rohit Sharma introducing the chinaman in the 11th over, the 30-year-old gave instant impact as he got the prized wicket of the young Kiwi all-rounder. Bowling a fine googly, Kuldeep’s ball deceived the batter as it went upto crash the stumps. This proved to be an important one for the Indian team, considering that Ravindra has been in form, scoring 226 runs in three matches in the ongoing tournament.
Watch Kuldeep Yadav bamboozling Rachin Ravindra’s wicket:
Earlier, India had two golden opportunities to halt the Kiwi juggernaut early, but costly errors in the field allowed Rachin Ravindra to continue his aggressive inning which saw him score 37 runs off 29 deliveries, including four boundaries and one maximum.
India vs New Zealand ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Final Playing XI
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
New Zealand: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, William ORourke
