India beats New Zealand to become group champions; will compete with mighty Australia in semi-final

DUBAI: India won the final match of the ICC Champions Trophy group stage. India entered the semi-finals as group champions after defeating the powerful New Zealand by 44 runs. Chasing a target of 250 runs, New Zealand could only manage 205 runs in 45.3 overs. India will face world champions Australia in the first semi-final to be held at the Dubai Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. New Zealand will face South Africa in the second semi-final to be held in Lahore on Wednesday.

Score: India 249-9 (50), New Zealand 205-10 (45.3)

Chasing a target of 250 runs, New Zealand's only good performance was that of former captain Kane Williamson, who scored a half-century of 81 (120). Will Young 22 (35), Rachin Ravindra 6 (12), Daryl Mitchell 17 (35), Tom Latham 14 (20), and Glenn Phillips 12 (8). The Kiwis' last hope of victory was also extinguished when captain Mitchell Santner was dismissed for 28 (31) at the eighth wicket.

For India, leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy took five wickets for 42 runs in 10 overs. Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets while Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja got one wicket each. Indian spinners took nine wickets. The Indian spinners put up a performance that did not allow their batsmen to advance at any stage of the Kiwis innings.

Earlier, Mitchell Santner won the toss and sent India to bat. In-form Shubman Gill 2(7) and captain Rohit Sharma 15(17) quickly returned. Virat Kohli was dismissed for 11 (14) by Glenn Phillips, leaving India at 30 for three. Shreyas Iyer's 79 (98) and Axar Patel's 42 (61) partnership of 98 runs for the fourth wicket saved India from their early slump.

Rachin Ravindra broke the partnership by dismissing Axar. Later, KL Rahul's 23 (29), Hardik Pandya's 45 (45), and Ravindra Jadeja's 16 (20) helped the team reach 250. Mohammed Shami was dismissed for 5 (8) runs while Kuldeep Yadav remained 1* (1) not out. Matt Henry took five wickets for New Zealand, while Kyle Jamieson, William O'Rourke, Mitchell Santner, and Rachin Ravindra took one wicket each.