India broke Pakistan's 21-year-old world record
Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- India broke Pakistan's 21-year-old record
- Indian spinners dominated the New Zealand batters
- India fielded four spinners in the match
The Indian cricket team set multiple new world records during their 44-run victory over New Zealand in the 2025 Champions Trophy clash at the Dubai International Stadium which ensured they finished the league stage by topping Group A and continued their winning run in the competition with three wins in as many matches.
Coming into the game, India made a bold selection call as Varun Chakravarthy came into the playing XI and replaced Harshit Rana which meant that India had four spin bowling options and Mohammed Shami was the lone specialist pacer in th line-up with Hardik Pandya handed extra responsibility as he took the ball for the first time in the tournament.
Defending a modest total of 249, the Indian spinners spun a web around the New Zealand batters with Varun taking a five-wicket haul for India in only his second ODI outing for the Men in Blue while Kuldeep Yadav took two vital scalps. Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel took one wicket each to. Hardik Pandya dismissed Rachin Ravindra, which was the only wicket taken by a pacer for the 2013 champions.
India Break Pakistan's 21-Year-Old World Record
New Zealand's innings against India in which they lost nine wickets to spinners was the first instance of the same happening in a Champions Trophy. Previous, Pakistan held the record for the most wickets taken by spinners in an innings when their slower balls took eight scalps against Kenya in the 2004 edition at the Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham. Shahid Afridi record the best bowling figures (5/11) in the tournament's history during this match.
| Team |
Opponent |
Wickets Taken By Spinners In Innings |
Venue |
Year |
| India |
New Zealand |
9 |
Dubai |
2025 |
| Pakistan |
Kenya |
8 |
Birmingham |
2004 |
| Sri Lanka |
Australia |
7 |
Colombo |
2002 |
| Bangladesh |
Zimbabwe |
7 |
Jaipur |
2006 |
This was also the joint-best performance by Indian spinners in an ODI game, as they had previously taken nine wickets in an ODI game four times before yesterday.
India's tally is also the second-best in an ICC ODI event, only behind Zimbabwe, whose spinners took all 10 wickets against Canada at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur in the 2011 World Cup.
Out of the 45.3 overs India bowled on Sunday, 37.3 were bowled by spinners with Shami and Hardik bowling only four overs each. This is the second most number of overs bowled by spinners in a Champions Trophy innings after Sri Lanka, who used spinners for 39.4 overs against Australia in 2002 at Colombo. Only twice in ODI cricket history have India bowled more overs of spin in an innings.
Varun Chakravarthy Helps India Shatter Record Books
Varun's five-wicket haul also made India the first team in history to take two five-wicket hauls in the same edition of the tournament. Earlier, veteran pacer Mohammed Shami also took a five-for against Bangladesh in the Men in Blue's opening game of the tournament.
Shami and Varun also hold the record for being the oldest players in Champions Trophy history to take five wickets in an innings. Both achieved the feat in their tournament debut for the Men in Blue.
In the India-New Zealand match, Matt Henry also took a five-wicket haul and had identical figures as Varun (5-43). This marked the first match in the tournament's history to see two five-wicket hauls. Henry became the first player to achieve the milestone in a losing cause.
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