India got off to the worst possible start in their last group-stage match against New Zealand in the ongoing Champions Trophy match in Dubai. New Zealand's pace bowlers Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson ripped apart India's top order as Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma were dismissed for (2), (15), and (11) runs respectively. Henry's brilliant form in the ongoing CT continued as he first trapped Gill LBW with a peach of a delivery.
Gill, who had come into this match on supreme form, this time failed to get India off to a solid start. The right-hand batter was a bit tentative to get going and seemed to struggle for timing. Henry kept hitting those hard lengths and was finally rewarded for his persistancy. With Gill out, the onus was now up to skipper Rohit Sharma to ensure India didn't lose more wickets, but alas that did not happen as Jamieson accounted for India's opening batter.
However, the moment of the match came via a superb fielding display from Glenn Phillips. The New Zealander, who has made a habit of plucking catches out of thin hair, yet again took a stunning diving catch to send Kohli back to the pavilion. The star India batter, who looked in good touch timed the cut short to perfection, only to find out that a flying Phillips positioned at backward point timed his jump to perfection to shock Kohli and the rest of the fans in Dubai Stadium.
Real test for India's middle order batters as they try to stabilize the innings
With three wickets down for not even 50 runs, the onus is on India's middle-order batters to try and stabilize the innings. Currently, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel are at the crease. The duo would be keen to keep the scoreboard moving by not taking any undue risks.
