Varun Chakravarthy starred with 5 wickets for 42 runs as India defeated New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday and topped the Group A table to set up a semifinal date with Australia on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Group B table toppers South Africa will now face New Zealand in the second semifinal in Lahore on Wednesday.
INDIA VS AUSTRALIA IN THE SEMI FINAL OF CT ON 4TH MARCH IN DUBAI. 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/nQhsBYEJwu
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 2, 2025
Kane Williamson scored a fighting 81 but he was sent back by Axar Patel who along with Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja took 1 wicket apiece. India will be wary of their semifinal opponents who even with a depleted squad pose a threat. The last time these two sides met in an ICC 50-over tournament, Australia had walked out as the ODI World Cup 2023 champions in Ahmedabad.
The Shreyas Iyer Show:
Earlier, Shreyas Iyer produced a composed fifty under pressure but New Zealand, led by pacer Matt Henry, managed to stifle India to an under-par 249 for nine.
Henry (5/42) was the most successful bowler for New Zealand, who also made an impact with their terrific fielding.
It was a slightly different situation for Iyer as in the last few matches, the top three batters had given him the cushion of runs.
It had enabled him to bat with some degree of freedom in those matches. But here he had to build the innings from the scratch and he did that job with perfection while making fifty off 75 balls with a single off Rachin Ravindra.
The natural flair was on show on occasions as Iyer once lofted pacer Will O’Rourke for a six over long one and Axar gave him excellent company on a rather slow pitch.
Also Read: Uttarakhand Avalanche: Rescue Ops Intensify, Advanced Drones Deployed to Save 4 Trapped
