India surpasses Pakistan's 21-year-old Champions Trophy record with a mesmerizing spin performance against New Zealand

India concluded the Champions Trophy 2025 group stage undefeated, clinching the top spot in Group A. In their last Group A match, Rohit Sharma and his team outperformed New Zealand by a margin of 44 runs, solidifying their position as the leaders of the group. Both India and New Zealand had already secured spots in the semi-finals.

The match also saw Varun Chakaravarthy make his Champions Trophy debut, as he picked a five-fer in his second ODI, which also became the earliest by an Indian bowler in his ODI career. The previous record was held by Stuart Binny, who took 6/4 vs Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2014 in his third ODI.

Also Read: Ravindra Jadeja's act while appealing for wicket irks Simon Doull, commentator slams umpire for not 'warning' India starIndia better Pakistan's 21-year-old Champions Trophy record

The run chase on Sunday saw New Zealand lose nine wickets to Indias spinners. It set the record for most wickets by spinners in an innings in Champions Trophy, bettering Pakistan’s eight vs Kenya in 2004.

Other than Varun’s 5/42 in 10 overs, Kuldeep Yadav struck twice, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel bagged a dismissal each respectively. Chasing a target of 250 runs, the Kiwis were bowled out for 205 in 45.3 overs, despite a half-century by veteran Kane Williamson (81).

Initially, Shreyas Iyer smacked 79 runs off 98 balls to take India to 249/9 in 50 overs. For New Zealand, pacer Matt Henry took a five-wicket haul.

Varun was also adjudged as Player of the Match for fifer, and revelled in his performance after the game. Speaking after the match, he revealed that he experienced nervousness in the early stages due to a lack of ODI experience. He went on to reveal that the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Iyer and Hardik Pandya helped him settle into the game by talking and helping him.

“First of all I did feel nervous in the initial stages. I have not played many matches for India in the ODI format but as the game went on I felt better. Virat, Rohit, Shreyas and Hardik were talking to me and that helped. (on when he knew he was playing this game) I found out last night. I was definitely expecting to play for the country but on the other side I was nervous. It was not a rank turner, but if you bowled in the right places it was giving help. The way Kuldeep, Jaddu and Axar bowled, even the pace bowlers, it was a total team effort,” he said.

ICC Champions Trophy , ICC Champions Trophy Schedule , and Champions Trophy 2025 Points Table – stay ahead with real-time match updates, team standings, and insights. Check live cricket score , player stats, and ICC rankings of top players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli . Get expert analysis, match previews, and in-depth coverage of ICC CT 2025, IPL 2025 Schedule and IPL 2025, all on HT Crickit, powered by Hindustan Times – your trusted source for cricket news along with India vs New Zealand Live Score. .freemium-card h4{color:#fff; padding-bottom:20px;} .freemium-card .freemium-content .subcTxt{padding-bottom:16px; color:#fff;} .freemium-card .freemium-content{width: auto; max-width: inherit;} .freemium-card .freemium-content .subcTxt{max-width:inherit; font-size:18px; padding-top:0; line-height:24px} .freemium-card .btnSubc{margin} .freemium-card .btnSubc a{background:#000; color:#fff; min-width:auto; padding:5px 15px; border-radius:6px; font-size:16px; line-height:22px; font-weight:700;} .freemium-card{height:285px} @media (max-width: 767px) { .freemium-card h4{font-size:28px} .freemium-card .freemium-content{max-width:360px; padding: 20px;} .freemium-card{height:303px; background-position: 100% 0; } }