Spinner Varun Chakravarthy returned figures of 5-42 as India beat New Zealand by 44 runs to set up a semifinal clash with Australia in cricket’s Champions Trophy.
India won all three of their group matches to top Group A and will play the first semifinal of the 50-over tournament in Dubai on Tuesday. The match is a rerun of the 2023 Cricket World Cup final, which the Australians won in Ahmedabad.
New Zealand will take on Group B winners South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday.
India are playing all their matches at the Dubai International Stadium after they refused to tour hosts Pakistan due to security reasons.
Australia and South Africa had to travel to Dubai from Pakistan despite not knowing if they would be playing there, as India were told ahead of the tournament they would play the first semifinal if they qualified no matter where they finished in the group.
South Africa will now have to fly back to Pakistan ahead of their meeting with New Zealand.
Shreyas Iyer’s 79 and a late 45 by Hardik Pandya steered India to 249-9 after being invited to bat first on Sunday.
New Zealand pace bowler Matt Henry stood out with figures of 5-42 from his eight overs.
Chakravarthy took his first ODI five-wicket haul in just his second match as India bowled out New Zealand for 205 in 45.3 overs despite a valiant 81 by Kane Williamson.
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