Virat Kohli playfully touches Axar Patel's feet after he dismisses Kane Williamson during IND vs NZ ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash [Watch]

Team India stalwart Virat Kohli playfully touched Axar Patel's feet after he dismissed New Zealand batter Kane Williamson during the 2025 Champions Trophy clash on Sunday (March 2) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The moment transpired at the end of the 41st over of the second innings in a chase of 250.

Axar gave India a crucial breakthrough by sending Williamson (81) back to the pavilion on the final ball of the 41st over. The star Kiwi batter charged at the bowler while trying to play an aggressive stroke but was completely beaten, leading a simple stumping chance for wicket-keeper KL Rahul.

As Axar got rid of the well-set New Zealand batter, Kohli walked up to the left-arm spinner and playfully touched his legs while he tried to evade the gesture. The duo engaged in fun banter briefly before going to their fielding positions for the start of the next over.

You can watch the moment in the video below:

After Williamson's departure, Mitchell Santner (28) played a cameo, but the target proved to be too much as there was not much support from the other end. Varun Chakaravarthy (5/42) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/56) wrapped up the tail efficiently to give India a 44-run victory.

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"The total which we got was enough to work it out" - India captain Rohit Sharma after victory vs New Zealand in ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash

At the post-match presentation, Rohit Sharma opened up that they were satisfied with the total and had confidence in the bowling unit to defend it. Reviewing his team's performance, Sharma said:

"It was important for us to finish the game on a high. New Zealand were playing really well and it was important to get the result. The Shreyas Axar partnership was crucial. The total which we got was enough to work it out. We had the confidence, the bowlers stepped up and did the job. Look Varun has got something different so we wanted to try and see what he can offer. "

He continued:

"We have to think what we want to do in the next game. If he gets it right it's very difficult to read him. You want to win possibly every games. You have to correct the mistakes quickly. Australia is gonna be a good game. They have a rich history of playing ICC tournaments well. It will start from ball one. We need to think what we need to do on that particular day."

Team India will face Australia in the first semi-final of the 2025 Champions Trophy on Tuesday (March 4) in Dubai.