Spin Power Unleashed
India unleashed their spin artillery on New Zealand last night at Dubai in the last of the league matches before the Semi finals of the ICC Champions Trophy.
Sensational Varun Scalps 5
India’s spin quartet of Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy, virtually turned the match square as the hapless Kiwis struggled to negotiate spin on a dry and turning track. Though all the Indian spinners got amongst the wickets, Varun, with his mysterious bowling scalped a Fifer as he bamboozled the Black Caps with a brilliant virtuoso performance.
Indian Batters’ Tough Going. Henry Gets 5
India lost another toss and were invited to bat first. New Zealand chipped away with Indian wickets before Shreyas Iyer (79) and the extremely impressive Axar Patel (42) stitched in a sedate 98 run stand on a difficult track. Later a critical 45 from Hardik Pandya pushed India to 249 in their allotted quota of 50 overs. Matt Henry secured a Fifer for New Zealand and at the break it appeared to many that the Kiwis with their batting strengths had the match in the bag.
NZ Caught In A Spin Web
The Indian spinners, though, had different ideas. Bowling with great discipline, guile and variations the Kiwis got wrapped around a spinning web. They lost wickets at regular intervals and the scoring rate dipped and dipped.
Williamson Knock In Vain As India Win
Kane Williamson, though, fought hard with a laboured 81, the 250 target seemed a huge mountain to climb, particularly with the New Zealand batters clueless against India’s sublime spin bowlers. In the end the Kiwis succumbed to 205, giving India a resounding 44 run victory.
Time For India To Return The Favour
The win would be a confidence booster for India as they take on arch rivals Australia in the Semis on Tuesday in Dubai. Their last engagement in the ODI format was the Final of the World Cup in 2023 and India would be looking to return the favour.
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