Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli had his moment in the match against New Zealand. India won the match by 44 runs and finished at the top of the points table. They will now face Australia in the first semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday, March 4.
New Zealand, who lost the match against India finished second on the points table in Group A and will face the Proteas in the second semi-final in Lahore on March 5, Wednesday.
The Champions Trophy 2025 is down to its final stages with India closing in on winning yet another ICC event. They have a chance to win back to back ICC events. Rohit Sharma won the T20 World Cup in 2024. He now has a chance to win the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.
Virat Kohli Was Nominated As Best Fielder Against New Zealand
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli won the best fielder award in the match against New Zealand. The modern Indian cricket team and the supper staff since Gambhir's take over has a tradition of giving best fielder medals to a particular Indian cricketer in every single game. Kohli won it in the recent game against New Zealand. Training assistant Udenaka Nuwan Senevirathne had the honor of presenting it to Kohli, who accepted it with a warm smile.
Kohli could not do his bit with the bat as he was dismissed by a brilliant catch by Glenn Phillips who was fielding at point. However, he did his bit in the field. He took Matt Henry's catch to give Varun Chakravarthy i his fifth wicket in the match. The mystery spinner has been in a purple pat since the T20I series against England and has now picked up his maiden fifer in the match against New Zealand.
Rohit Sharma in his post-match presentation speech said that the team is now looking forward to the semi-final against Australia on Wednesday. He said that it is important to minimise the mistakes heading into the big game.
"Critical to possibly win every game and doing everything right in a short tournament. Important to correct mistakes quickly, and that's where we know if your team is going up or going down. It will be a good game, Australia has a rich history of playing ICC tournaments well, but is is about us and what we want to do well on that particular day. It will be a great contest, looking forward to that. Hopefully we can stitch one towards us" Rohit said.
