India National Cricket Team sealed a commanding 44-run victory over New Zealand in Match 12 of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 securing the top spot in Group A. With this win Rohit Sharma’s team is set to take on Australia in the first semi-final on March 4 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

ct-2025-who-said-what-ind-vs-nzBefore the game Both India and New Zealand had already booked their semi-final spots but this match decided their final standings. As a result India will now battle it out with Group B’s second-placed team Australia National Cricket Team for a place in the final.

Batting first India had a bad start losing three wickets for just 30 runs. However Shreyas Iyer steadied the innings with a crucial 79-run knock. From the Other hand Hardik Pandya (45) and Axar Patel (42) played vital roles in the middle order helping India reach 249/9 in 50 overs.

New Zealand National Cricket Team Matt Henry was the standout performer with the ball taking an impressive 5 wickets for 42 runs restricting India to a chaseable total.

Also Read: Matt Henry Creates History with Five-Wicket Haul Against India in Champions Trophy 2025

Chasing 250 New Zealand started well with former captain Kane Williamson leading the charge with 81 runs. But India’s bowlers turned the game around led by playing his first game of the tournament Varun Chakravarthy who delivered a match-winning spell of 5/42. His brilliance dismantled New Zealand’s middle order bowling them out for 205 in 45.3 overs.

Who Said What?

Varun Chakravarthy, Player of the Match

"I did feel nervous in the initial stages. Not played a lot for India in ODIs, so was nervous. As the game progressed, felt better. Virat, Rohit, Shreyas, Hardik everyone was talking to me and asked me to calm down. Found out last night about play. Was expecting to play for the country and looking forward, but was nervous. It was not a rank-turner but if you bowled in the right places, it helped. The way Kuldeep, Jaddu, Axar bowled, even the pacers. It was a total team effort."

Rohit Sharma, India Captain

"Very important for us to finish on a high. New Zealand a good side, playing well in the recent past. Axar-Shreyas partnership was important after losing wickets in the first powerplay. They got us to a good total, with our quality bowlers, we had the confidence to defend that. Varun has got something different, wanted to try and see what he had to offer. We got to think a little about what to do for the next game, good headache. If he gets it right, very difficult to read him. Momentum critical in such a short game. Try and win game, try and do everything right. Mistakes happen but correcting that is important. It is going to be a good game. Australia have a rich history of playing well in ICC tournaments. About us to do things right. We have to be focused on what we need to do on that day. Looking forward to that, hopefully we can stitch one towards us."

Mitchell Santner, New Zealand Captain

"A slower wicket than what we have come up against. India controlled the middle phase. Shreyas batted well and Hardik finished off. Spun more than we thought, spun more than the other games here. Four quality spinners makes it tough. Key for us was wickets in the powerplay. Kane's form nice for us. South Africa are a quality side. In those wickets with pace and bounce, they have good four pacers."