Thrown into the spotlight in just his second ODI, Varun Chakaravarthy made the opportunity count in spectacular fashion.
In the bowling rankings, Keshav Maharaj and Matt Henry have broken into the top five
IMAGES from the Champions Trophy final played between India and New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday.
New Zealand and South Africa, both laden with world-class talent but often falling short in ICC tournaments, will face off in a tightly contested Champions Trophy semifinal.
Virat Kohli is the seventh Indian player to achieve the feat after Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Mohammed Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh.
Gujarat Titans will aim to tighten their grip on the top spot and move closer to securing a play-off berth when they take on a faltering Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League match in Jaipur on Monday.
The tournament was decorated with several impactful players and 12 of them have made it to the ICC Champions Trophy Team of the Tournament.
ICC ODI Player of the Year Afghanistan's Azamatullah Omarzai would be able to join Punjab Kings only on March 20.
Phillips' remarkable reach and agility on the field can be attributed to genes and his stint as a gymnast in his younger days.
Successful in keeping opponents and vitriol at bay so far, India will have to rise above traditional bugbear New Zealand and a rigmarole of emotions surrounding stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to reclaim the Champions Trophy after 12 years in Dubai on Sunday.
Gujarat Titans will look to bounce back from the carnage that wonder boy Vaibhav Suryavanshi inflicted on them when they face a stuttering Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Michael Bracewell, who was one of the main performers for New Zealand in the Champions Trophy, will lead the side in the absence of Mitchell Santner.
New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips praised Virat Kohli's legacy in cricket, calling his 300th ODI a 'big feat' in the modern era.
The Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals will hope their struggling bowling units can find their form on an Ahmedabad pitch that has produced high scores in the last four matches.
IMAGES from the Champions Trophy second Semi-final between New Zealand and South Africa played at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Wednesday
'We were 20 or 25 under to what we were looking for.'
India's spinners were the key architects of the bowling performance. Varun Chakravarthy (2/45) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/40) were the standout performers, while Jadeja (1/30) and Axar Patel (0/29 in 8 overs) kept the pressure on with their economical spells.
A seemingly invincible India will be eager to sharpen their game against spin and give a run to second-line players ahead of the semi-final when they take on New Zealand in their last group match of the Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday.
On paper, the squad may not create too much optimism among fans but it still has a balanced look with a good mix of young players and experienced international names.
The Capitals sit pretty at the top with 10 points from six games, while the Titans trail close behind with eight from as many outings.
Reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders will hope that their strife-ridden batting unit will tighten its act against in-form table-toppers Gujarat Titans in the IPL match in Kolkata on Monday.
The New Zealand all-rounder was left bloodied by the blow to his forehead after losing sight of the ball in the floodlights as he attempted a catch in the 38th over of Pakistan's innings.
New Zealand's bowlers exploited the favorable conditions at the Wankhede Stadium, decimating India's top order in the early overs.
Henry's exceptional spell of 5 for 42 in eight overs played a crucial role in restricting India to 249/9 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Seamers Ben Sears, Nathan Smith and Will O'Rourke will play their first global tournament at the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates next month after being named in the New Zealand squad on Sunday.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy justified his selection with a five-wicket haul and bowled India to a 44-run victory against New Zealand.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's bowling unit will face a different challenge when they take on Gujarat Titans in an IPL match on Wednesday.
India's pace talisman Jasprit Bumrah's absence will certainly hurt India, but the team's quality batting and spin bowling make them title contenders alongside South Africa and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy.
India were still staring at a daunting challenge despite a much more assured performance in their second innings, trailing by 125 runs at the close with Sarfaraz Khan on 70 not out after Virat Kohli fell for the same score on the day's final ball.
England took charge of the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday, riding Harry Brook's 171 to a first-innings lead of 151 before reducing the Black Caps to 155/6 on Day 3.
Young blocked the first ball of the Abrar Ahmed over for a dot before sweeping the ball to square leg to bring up his century.
With 288 runs at a strike rate of 225, Nicholas Pooran is the top run-getter in IPL 2025, while Mohammed Siraj has been brilliant in Powerplay overs with 10 wickets in five games.
'We'll be putting our thinking caps on how to nullify that threat while still scoring runs against him.'
New Zealand beat India by 25 runs in Mumbai to complete an unprecedented 3-0 series sweep in India.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between SunRisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans in Hyderabad on Sunday.
New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson said his side have every chance of derailing India in a major final once again.
A confident New Zealand side will be eager to seal a semi-final spot when they take on Bangladesh, who will be fighting for survival, in their Champions Trophy Group A match in Rawalpindi on Monday.
Allowing India to play all their matches in Dubai robbed Pakistan of the honour of hosting the final and disrupted the schedule of the knockout matches.
India stumbled to second place in the ICC World Test Championship 2025 table after suffering a 0-3 series whitewash against New Zealand.
The result meant that defending champions Pakistan joined Bangladesh in being knocked out of the tournament after losing their opening two matches against New Zealand and India.
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