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Indian stars Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya returned to India following a title-winning campaign at the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai.
India secured their second successive white-ball title after T20 World Cup 2024, defeating New Zealand by four wickets to win their third ICC Champions Trophy title on Sunday. Iyer and Hardik arrived in Mumbai following the conclusion of the tournament. Iyer had a fine Champions Trophy, top-scoring for India with the bat, making 243 runs in five matches at an average of 48.60, with two half-centuries. On the other hand, Hardik made 99 runs in four matches at an average of 24.75 and picked up four wickets, delivering crucial cameos with the bat. In Chennai, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who was a crucial part of the Indian spin set-up with five wickets and crucial 27 runs with the bat (including the winning hit) arrived where he would be preparing for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season with Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Also, Varun Chakravarthy arrived in Chennai after an impactful and memorable debut at ICC events, taking nine wickets at an average of 15.11 including a five-wicket haul. He was India's second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. All-rounder Axar Patel, who made impactful 109 runs at number five spot, picked up five scalps and displayed brilliant fielding displays, also returned home to Ahmedabad to cheers from fans. Coming to the title clash, New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first. Kiwis got off to a fine start with a 57-run stand between Will Young (15) and Rachin Ravindra (37 in 29 balls, with four boundaries and a six). However, Kuldeep Yadav (2/40) applied the brakes and reduced NZ to 75/3. A 57-run stand between Daryl Mitchell (63 in 101 balls, with three fours) and Michael Bracewell pushed the Kiwis towards 150-plus runs. Bracewell played a fine hand of 53* in 40 balls, with three fours and two sixes, taking NZ to 251/7 in their 50 overs. Kuldeep (2/40) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/45) were top wicket-takers for India. Mohammed Shami also took a wicket but conceded 74 runs in his nine overs. During the run-chase, India had a fine 105-run stand to start off things, between skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill (31 in 50 balls, with a six). While Gill, Virat and eventually Rohit (76 in 83 balls, with seven fours and three sixes) lost their wickets quickly, leaving India at 122/3, Shreyas Iyer (48 in 62 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Axar Patel (29 in 40 balls, with a four and six) stitched a 61-run stand. After India lost Axar following the crossing of the 200-run mark, KL Rahul (34* in 33 balls, with a four and a six) and Jadeja took India over the finishing line. Michael Bracewell (2/28) and Mitchell Santner (2/46) were top wicket-takers for NZ. (ANI)
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