"Cancel the fielding medal ceremony after this" - Fans react as India drop 5 catches during IND vs NZ 2025 Champions Trophy final

Team India's fielding was not up to the mark in the 2025 Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday, March 9. The Blackcaps won the toss and chose to bat first in the summit clash.

The Men in Blue let themselves down in the field, dropping around five catches in the crucial encounter. It started with pace spearhead Mohammad Shami failing to complete a caught and bowled against Rachin Ravindra in the seventh over.

Ravindra got another life, with Shreyas Iyer dropping a catch at deep midwicket in the eighth over off Varun Chakaravarthy's bowling. In the 35th over, when left-arm spinner Axar Patel was operating, skipper Rohit Sharma missed a difficult chance at mid-wicket, giving Daryl Mitchell a reprieve.

There was another missed opportunity in the very next over; this time, Shubman Gill was the culprit. He put down Glenn Phillips' chance in the deep, leaving bowled Ravindra Jadeja frustrated.

Several fans took to social media to react to India's sloppiness in the field during the 2025 Champions Trophy final. Here are some of the top reactions from X:

"Really poor fielding this from india had they taken all those chances they would 've been chasing less than 200," wrote a fan.

"India's fielding is world-class until it actually matters. Big match pressure kicks in, and suddenly, they forget how to catch. So annoying," commented another.

"Cancel the fielding medal ceremony after this hall of shame fielding performance in the most important game," chimed in yet another.

It remains to be seen if the multiple dropped chances would hurt India or not in the all-important final. They need to chase down 252 for victory.

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Michael Bracewell's late blitz helped New Zealand register a competitive total in 2025 Champions Trophy final

The Indian bowlers did a tidy job in the 2025 Champions Trophy, not allowing the New Zealand batters to score runs freely in the middle overs. Daryl Mitchell was the top scorer with a 63-run knock. However, his runs came at an underwhelming strike rate of 62.38.

All-rounder Michael Bracewell provided his team with some much-needed impetus towards the back end of the innings, notching up a fine half-century. He remained unbeaten on 53 runs off 40 balls.

New Zealand ultimately finished at 251/7 after 50 overs. Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets apiece, while Mohammad Shami and Ravindra Jadeja bagged one scalp each.