Varun Chakaravarthy traps Will Young plumb in front for 15 in IND vs NZ 2025 Champions Trophy final [Watch]

Mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy gave India their first breakthrough, trapping Will Young lbw in the 2025 Champions Trophy final against New Zealand. The match is being played on Sunday, March 9, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The dismissal occurred on the fifth ball of the eighth over in New Zealand's innings. Varun bowled a leg break with the seam pointing towards backward point, causing the ball to drift in and land around off stump. Young attempted to flick it towards the leg side but missed, as the ball struck his pad low. Umpire Paul Reiffel wasted no time in raising his finger, signaling India’s first wicket.

Here’s a video of the dismissal:

The right-handed batter scored 15 off 23 balls, including two boundaries. Young's dismissal left New Zealand at 57/1 after 7.5 overs.

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India take two quick wickets after a 57-run opening stand between Will Young and Rachin Ravindra

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and chose to bat. The opening pair of Rachin Ravindra and Will Young made a strong start, adding 37 runs in the first five overs. Mohammed Shami then gave New Zealand a reprieve when he dropped Rachin off his own bowling in the seventh over. In the following over, the southpaw was dropped again, this time by Shreyas Iyer.

However, in the same over, Varun Chakaravarthy gave India their first breakthrough, dismissing Young for 15. Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav was introduced into the attack in the 11th over and struck immediately, removing Rachin for 37 on the very first ball. At the time of writing, New Zealand were 73/2 after 11 overs, with Kane Williamson (10) and Daryl Mitchell (2) at the crease.

Playing XI of both teams:

New Zealand: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, and William O’Rourke.

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakaravarthy.