Two drop catches in five balls! Rachin Ravindra survives twice in quick succession as India miss early chances in Champions Trophy final

NEW DELHI: New Zealand got off to a flying start in the ICC Champions Trophy final against India at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, with openers Rachin Ravindra and Will Young laying a strong foundation. However, India had two golden opportunities to halt the Kiwi juggernaut early, but costly errors in the field allowed Ravindra to continue his aggressive innings.
The first chance came in the seventh over when Mohammed Shami dropped a straightforward caught-and-bowled opportunity. Ravindra, on 28 off 20 balls, chipped the ball back to Shami, who initially seemed to duck before putting his hand up at the last moment. The ball hit the end of his left hand, which had strapping on it, and went down. Shami immediately called for the physio, needing attention on his hand.
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Just four balls later, Ravindra got another lifeline when Shreyas Iyer dropped him at deep mid-wicket off Varun Chakaravarthy’s bowling. Attempting a slog-sweep, Ravindra got a top edge, and Iyer, who ran 21 meters to his right and lunged at the last moment with outstretched hands, could not hold on. The ball hit his hands and spilled out as he dived, giving Ravindra another crucial reprieve.
These missed chances could prove costly for India, as Ravindra has been one of the top scorers in the tournament. He had already taken the attack to India early in the innings, smashing 16 runs off Hardik Pandya in the fourth over, including a six and two fours, taking the score from 10/0 in three overs to 26/0 after four. He followed it up with two more boundaries off Shami in the next over, collecting 11 runs as New Zealand raced to 37/0 in five overs.
The two big overs forced Indian skipper Rohit Sharma to introduce Varun Chakaravarthy into the attack early in the sixth over. However, despite the tactical adjustment, India’s fielding lapses allowed New Zealand to maintain their momentum. After the second drop, Ravindra ran two runs to take New Zealand to 54/0 after 7.1 overs, further solidifying their strong start in the final.
However, Kuldeep Yadav clean bowled Ravindra in the 11th over for 37 (29 balls) with his first delivery of the match, making sure the drop chances were not as costly as it could have been.