Injured Kane Williamson runs to give animated pep talk in drinks break; Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rohit out soon after
After Kane Williamson finished his pep talk, captain Mitchell Santner took centrestage. The animated discussion continued, only the speaker changed.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were killing the game with an impeccable mix of caution and aggression when the first drinks break was called for in the second innings of the ICC Champions Trophy final in Dubai. Chasing 252 for win, India were coasting at 103 for no loss - only their century-plus opening stand in the history of Champions Trophy finals. The game was drifting away from New Zealand at a rapid pace.
Their dugout sensed that. Injured Kane Williamson, who was taking no further part in the field after suffering a quad strain while batting earlier in the day, came in swiftly. The legendary Kiwi batter initiated the discussion animatedly. Williamson was easy to spot in the bib among all New Zealand cricketers in their black uniform. There was a lot of shouting and movement of the arms.
After Kane Williamson finished his pep talk, captain Mitchell Santner took centrestage. The animated discussion continued, only the speaker changed. You don't always see New Zealand cricketers pumped up like this. But then again, you don't always get the opportunity to win the Champions Trophy.
The result was immediate. Three balls later, Glenn Phillips, out of nowhere, took an unbelievable flying one-handed catch to break the partnership by sending back Shubman Gill. One could argue that Phillips doesn't really need any motivation to do gravity-defying stunts on the cricket field, but boy, did New Zealand need that.
The catch gave New Zealand respite from Gill and Rohit's onslaught and brought them in the game. In the very next over, Michael Bracewell trapped Virat Kohli LBW. The legendary chasemaster was guilty of closing the face of his bat way too early. The ball turned and hit him in front. He went for the review but it was of no use.
Santner, Bracewell and Rachin Ravindra combined to apply the squeeze on India just like Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakarvarthy did earlier in the day.
Rohit and Shreyas Iyer just could not rotate the strike. The pressure gave way to another false shot. Rohit charged down the track to Ravindra, who pulled his length back ever so slightly, got some turn to evade Rohit's swinging bat. Tom Latham behind the stumps, whipped the bails in a flash.
Since the drinks break India lost three wickets in 8.1 overs for just 19 runs. From 103 for no loss, they were 122 for three and under immense pressure.
After 30 overs, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel were batting on 19 and 4 respectively with India needing another 116 runs in 20 overs.
Earlier, New Zealand were restricted to 251/7 with the Indian bowlers, especially the spinners Kuldeep Yadav (2/40) and Varun Chakaravarthy (2/45), producing a clinical performance in the summit clash.
Mitchell top-scored for New Zealand with 63 from 101 balls, while Michael Bracewell, Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips contributed 53 not out, 37 and 34 respectively.
