WATCH: Mohammed Shami and Shreyas Iyer drop crucial catches of Rachin Ravindra in Champions Trophy final

New Zealand openers Rachin Ravindra and Will Young got their team off to a strong start in the 2025 Champions Trophy finals. Mohammed Shami and Shreyas Iyer dropped two catches in two overs to leave fans frustrated. The wicket of Ravindra was huge considering the left-handed batter has been in terrific form with the bat. 

The first catch drop happened on the third ball of the seventh over. Shami had made the batter play his shot early which carried to the bowler. The 34-year-old got both his hands on the ball but couldn’t hold onto it. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma gave a frustrated look as the chance went down. 

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Rachin Ravindra dropped by Mohammed Shami on 29.#INDvsNZ #ChampionsTrophyFinal #WomensDay HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOONGI jungkook 2Days Left For Bodh Diwas Syria Holi Alex Ankalaev Saint Dr MSG Insan #SSMB29 Lakers Toss Team India #UFC313 nayein Momo Jai Gurudev pic.twitter.com/VXrNz6v7gr

— QriousX (@QriousQuest) March 9, 2025

Another catch droped of rachin ravindra by shreyas iyer #ChampionsTrophy2025 #INDvsNZ pic.twitter.com/ZQ4iKZRZeh

— sharma_45_rohit (@Anandkumar57927) March 9, 2025

Team India then got a second chance in the next over with Ravindra trying to sweep Varun Chakravarthy. Iyer made good ground and dove full length to try and take the catch but the batter was given his second life. On the previous ball Ravindra was given out caught behind but the batter decided to use the review. It was the right call as the ball hadn’t made contact with the bat or the gloves. 

New Zealand makes strong start in CT2025 finals

Mitchell Santner’s decision to bat first after winning the toss seemed to have rich dividends. Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya began well with the ball as just ten runs were scored from the first three overs. It seemed as if the two Kiwi openers wanted to get their eye in before taking on the bowlers. 

Ravindra then got into the act as he hit Pandya for two fours and a six in the fourth over as 16 runs were scored. All of a sudden, the Kiwi batters were scoring at over six runs per over. Ravindra, then hit smashed Shami for two successive fours to signal his intent and cause real problems for India. 

Varun Chakravarthy was pressed into action early as the right-arm spinner began with five wides. With the pitch offering slight turn, the 33-year-old began to exert control to put the Kiwi batters under pressure. Indian bowlers will be looking to dismiss Ravindra considering his amazing form with the bat in CT2025 where he is the leading run-scorer.