Twitter Reactions: New Zealand restrict India to 249 as Shreyas Iyer shines in Champions Trophy 2025 thriller

Twitter Reactions- New Zealand restrict India to 249 as Shreyas Iyer shines in Champions Trophy 2025 thriller (Photo by Alex Davidson – ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

Team India (IND) ended up putting up 249/9 on the board against New Zealand (NZ) after their 50-over quota in Match 12 of the ongoing edition of the Champions Trophy, being played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, in Dubai, on Sunday, March 2.

Being put in to bat first, the Men in Blue were put to the test early on after the top-order of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli were back to the hut by the completion of the seventh over of the innings. Kohli’s wicket, in particular, was courtesy of a breathtaking moment of fielding brilliance by Glenn Phillips at backward point. From there onwards, it was Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel who orchestrated the rescue act for their side.

India did not lose a wicket until the second delivery of the 30th over, which saw Axar departing for 42. KL Rahul joined Iyer in the middle, but he too perished for a 29-ball 23-run knock while offering Mitchell Santner his first wicket of the afternoon. Hardik Pandya came out to the middle to replace Iyer in the 37th over, the latter departing for a composed 79 (98). Hardik started off slow, taking six balls to get off the mark.

The all-rounder’s first maximum, also his first boundary, came on his 15th delivery. The Black Caps were right on the money with executing their variations, as they were successful in not conceding any boundaries between overs 42 and 44, respectively. The penultimate over of India’s innings was when Hardik finally hit his straps, carting Kyle Jamieson for 15 runs to provide much-needed impetus to the scoreboard. A couple of wickets in the final over of the innings by Matt Henry saw him earn his first five-wicket haul against India in the 11th appearance against them.

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Check out how X reacted to the first innings of the IND-NZ CT 2025 clash:

Never seen such incredible fielding moments in one game! Wow NZ!#IndvNZ

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) March 2, 2025

#Phillips Phillips everywhere, not a single drop. #INDvsNZ

— Hooloovoo (@The_Hooloovoo) March 2, 2025

Best fielding side right now in cricket.
Hats off to New zealand#INDvsNZ

— Prashant Meena (@iprashantmeena) March 2, 2025

What an effort shown by Newzealand team against India team,
Bowling 10/10
Fielding 10/10#INDvsNZ #ChampionsTrophy

— Md Sharique Raza (@MdShariqueRaza8) March 2, 2025

India doing everything possible to avoid a clash with Aussies #IndvsNZ

— Mama Miyan (@mamaNmiyan) March 2, 2025

New Zealand have succeeded in restricting India in what seems like a below par score #INDvsNZ

— Vinay K (@vinaysk2) March 2, 2025

250 is the target for kiwis india going with 4 spinners. The thing to be noted is their batsman played cricket in pakistan before visiting dubai in perfect batting paradise and their bowlers bowl in bowling hell. Let’s see #INDvsNZ #ChampionsTrophy

— Hulk (@ashutosh77940) March 2, 2025