New Zealand pacer Matt Henry continued his impressive run against India as he troubled Rohit Sharma and Co. in the Champions Trophy fixture at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, March 2.
Henry played a crucial role in helping the Kiwis restrict India to 249 in their group-stage fixture in Dubai. He took a five-wicket haul as he starred with the ball in the first innings.
Henry struck in the third over when he removed Shubman Gill, trapped in front of the wickets, before getting the prized wicket of Virat Kohli, thanks to a good catch by Glenn Phillips.
While the others struck in the middle phase, Henry returned to do the damage yet again in the later part of the innings. He came back in the death overs to dismiss Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami to complete his five wickets.
Henry has become the first-ever bowler to take a five-wicket haul against India in the history of the Champions Trophy. The previous best figures against India in the tournament belonged to former Pakistan fast bowler Naved-ul-Hasan, who took 4/25 in a clash against the Men in Blue in 2004. Shoaib Akhtar is also in the top three in this list, having taken 4/36 against India in the same game.
Best bowling figures by a bowler against India in Champions Trophy:
1 - Matt Henry: 5/42 in Champions Trophy 2025
2 - Naved-ul-Haq: 4/25 in Champions Trophy 2004
3 - Shoaib Akhtar: 4/36 in Champions Trophy 2004
4 - Douglas Hondo: 4/62 in Champions Trophy 2002
5 - Mohammad Amir: 3/16 in Champions Trophy 2017
On the back of Shreyas Iyer's 79 and Hardik Pandya's late flourish of run-a-ball 45, India could make 249 in their allotted 50 overs. The Men in Blue were reeling at 30/3 before Shreyas and Axar Patel put up a 98-run stand for the fourth wicket. Just when the Indians were looking to go big, they lost Axar. Shreyas fell short of his hundred too, and the Men in Blue kept losing their way but kept the scoreboard going to finish at 249.