What a Gala time Ruturaj Gaikwad is experiencing at the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22. Smashing centuries after centuries and is continuing to impress the selectors with his glorious batting skills. The Maharashtra skipper started his terrific swing of centuries by hitting 136 runs in 112 balls. The captain took the team to victory and won by 5 wickets.

Ruturaj in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22:

The Maharashtra opener continued his legacy in the next match of Vijay Hazare 20 21 22 against Chhattisgarh as well. The Indian batter aggregated 154 runs in 143 balls with 14 fours and 5 sixes and a strike rate of 107.69. Also, the result of the match was in the favor of Maharashtra as the team won by 8 wickets.

Read also: Happy Birthday Yuvraj: Every Yuvraj Singh Records

In the third match of Maharashtra against Kerala, Gaikwad hit 124 runs in 129 balls. He took the team to 291/8 but unfortunately could not when the match as Kerala defeated Maharashtra by 4 wickets. The 24-year-old has been exceptional in his previous tournaments and once again proved his batting caliber in the ongoing Vijay Hazare trophy. He aggregated 414 runs in only 3 matches playing for Maharashtra in the season.

Also, Rituraj is in the line of joining Virat Kohli if he succeeds in scoring one more century in the tournament. The elite list of batters to score 4 centuries in the domestic 50 over tournament is Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, and Prithvi Shaw. Till now Devdutt Padikkal is the only batter who hit 4 successive centuries in a season of Vijay Hazare trophy. It is only a matter of time to witness if Ruturaj can join Padikkal by scoring 1 more century against Uttarakhand in the fourth match.

Ruturaj in IPL 2021:

With his impressive performance in IPL, he is setting as a strong batter to get selected in the Indian squad. In IPL 2021, Ruturaj won the orange cap as he scored the highest runs by aggregating 635 runs which is one of the biggest reasons behind CSK victory this year. Without a single thought, Chennai Super Kings also retained the young batter for IPL 2022.

Read also: Ashes 2021-22: Most test wickets by spinners

Gaikwad is getting praised by every nooks and corner and needless to say he definitely deserves it. At a time, many raised fingers at him as he couldn't prove himself in the first leg of IPL 2021. But with his dedication towards the sport and faith from his captain MS Dhoni, he turned out to be the biggest batting asset for Chennai Super Kings.

Also, he did not play a lot of matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. But still made sure to leave a remarkable mark with every opportunity he got in the tournament. In only 5 innings, he scored 259 runs with a strike rate of 149. Ruturaj Gaikwad is an experienced cricketer on the domestic circuit and he is proving himself worthy to the Indian team. The South African tour next year is literally knocking at the door and we might get to see a glimpse of the Maharashtrian cricketer in the Indian squad.

Hello and welcome to the LIVE coverage of the India vs New Zealand Final in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, to be played today at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.

Exactly a week ago, India faced off against New Zealand in the last group game of the Group A. India won the match by 44 runs to finish first in the group stage.

However, India defeated Australia by four wickets in the first semi-final, whereas New Zealand posted a dominant win by 50 runs against South Africa in the second semi-final.

Both teams have displayed supreme cricketing action so far in this tournament, setting up a potential thrilling final. So just relax and enjoy the epic clash as Sportz Point provides you with all the real-time updates, team news, live scores, images and match commentary of the epic India vs New Zealand Final in the ICC CT '25.

This is Koushik Biswas and Soumit Bhattacharya who bring you all the LIVE Updates from the web desk.

Moreover, you can follow us on Twitter for all the updates. Join our Telegram and WhatsApp channels to get all the news and scores.

Indian cricket team star Virat Kohli has marked his name in cricket history during the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final in Dubai. 

India reached the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final after a close win against Australia in the semi-final. Kohli was important in this win, scoring 84 runs off 98 balls at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma in ICC tournaments for India

While chasing a target of 265 runs, Kohli played calmly and helped keep the score moving, forming important partnerships before getting out to Adam Zampa while trying to hit a big shot. His innings included five boundaries.

Virat Kohli's stats in ICC tournament finals

Virat Kohli has played in eight ICC finals and has made a big impact. In ten innings, he has scored 410 runs, often shining when it matters.

Kohli’s skill to perform well under pressure is a key part of his career. Although he has some low scores in ICC finals, he has also made important runs that helped India in big matches.

His best score in an ICC final was 77 runs against Sri Lanka in the 2014 T20 World Cup, but India did not win. 

Now that India is in the Champions Trophy 2025 final, fans hope Kohli keeps up his good form and gives another great performance in the final.

So, let's take a look at the Virat Kohli stats in ICC tournaments.

Virat Kohli stats in ICC tournament 

Virat Kohli has played a total of 94 innings across various ICC events, amassing 3,975 runs.

His performances showed his consistency and ability to deliver for India in crucial international tournaments.

Here is a look at Virat Kohli's performances across various ICC tournaments.

Captained the team in ICC event in 2017

Kohli captained the team for the first time in an ICC event in 2017, guiding India to the finals. Despite their strong run, India lost to arch-rivals Pakistan by a massive 180-run margin.

Also Read: India vs Pakistan in ICC tournament results

CT debut came in 2009

Virat Kohli's Champions Trophy debut came in 2009 when India was knocked out in the group stage after losses to Pakistan and Australia. 

However, it was during that very tournament that Kohli had his first breakthrough moment, scoring a crucial 79* against the West Indies in a tense chase of 130.

The 2013 tournament saw Kohli rise to even greater heights, with MS Dhoni leading India to the trophy after a thrilling final win against England.

Virat Kohli stats in ICC Champions Trophy 

Virat Kohli has played 17 matches in the ICC Champions Trophy, scoring 746 runs in 16 innings.

His highest score is an unbeaten 100, with an impressive strike rate of 90.09.

Kohli has hit six half-centuries and one century in the tournament.

Here is a look at Virat Kohli stats in Champions Trophy.

Chakdaha, a very tiny town in the Nadia district of West Bengal, is known to the cricketing world for a very special player. It is Jhulan Goswami, who made Chakdaha famous with fiery spells all around the globe, wearing the Blue jersey of India. 

When Jhulan was breaking records in women's cricket, another speedster from Chakdaha dreamt of breaking stumps and records too. Sayan Ghosh, known as Bengal's Malinga, saw ups and downs from the start of his cricketing career. But, like his swinging yorkers, Sayan never swayed away from his targets. 

Ghosh last played a Ranji Trophy game way back in 2017. In 6 first-class games, he has two five-wicket hauls. Still, he was never called back to the Ranji Trophy, team until this season. The reason is his incredible comeback into the white ball side for Bengal. 

Sayan Ghosh's incredible season in white-ball format

Sayan was always called the "White Ball" specialist due to his ability to hit yorkers and variations. However, with bowlers like Mukesh Kumar, Ishan Porel and Akash Deep doing well, he found himself out of the side in the last few seasons. But, his will to keep doing well at the club level, helped him make another comeback to the Bengal side. 

This season, Sayan Ghosh was the highest wicket-taker for Bengal in both Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, he returned with 13 wickets from 7 games at an outstanding economy rate of 6.77.

Bengal wins the thriller against Chandigarh and marches forward to the semi finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024.

Former KKR bowler Sayan Ghosh was the star of the show as he picked up 4 wickets and defended 11 runs of the final over that helped Bengal come out on top. pic.twitter.com/ZdOl4soLSt

— KKR ULTRAS (@KKRUltras) December 9, 2024

In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the stats were even better as he capped off the season with 15 wickets from 7 games which included a five-wicket haul against Kerala. Post, his outstanding white-ball return, Sayan was included in the Ranji Trophy squad for the final two games of the season. 

Read Also | Bengal Ranji Team in Last Three Seasons: 13 opening combinations, 22 debutants and many more numbers

"Nothing as sweet as a comeback:" Sayan Ghosh

After his remarkable resurgence in domestic cricket, Sportz Point sat with the 32-year-old pacer to sense his thoughts. 

Talking about his return to the Bengal team, Sayan started the conversation by saying, "It is always a pleasure to represent Bengal. And there is nothing as sweet as a comeback when you are down and about to lose. Performing well for the team feels great."

Ex-KKR pacer Sayan Ghosh in action for @Mohun_Bagan

Does his action resemble anyone? #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/mPaLkt1Rr5

— Koushik Biswas (@kbofficial25) November 28, 2023

Impact of Bengal Pro T20 League

Sayan feels, along with doing well for Mohun Bagan in the club format, the Bengal Pro T20 League has helped him be in the best form possible. 

"I must say, performance in BPL gave me confidence," Sayan told Sportz Point.

"I didn’t take too much pressure for the whole season because I knew if I did well, I would play. I had belief in myself. Captain Sudip (Gharami), coaches Laxmi (Ratan Shukla) da and Maco (Shib Shankar Paul) da gave confidence. So, I didn’t take a lot of pressure."

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Sayan ghosh (@16sayan)

Focusing on the basics

A few seasons back, Sayan had a longer run-up which caused him a few injuries. But, post the 2022 season, he shortened his run-up to avoid such injuries which helped him gain more control. Keeping this in mind, Sportz Point wanted to know if he had done anything special to prepare for this grand comeback. 

However, as per Sayan, he just kept doing the basic things over and over to get better at everything. "I do lots of fitness work and spot bowling. It helps me a lot," Sayan added while answering the question. 

Read Also | Where Are They Now: Last Time Bengal Men's Cricket Team Won A Trophy

"Trust in GOD"

Regardless of how, for a sportsperson, a comeback is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical battle. Back in 2022, in an exclusive interview with Sportz Point, Sayan shared that "rejections do not deject him." 

But, saying that and actually having that mental strength are two different things altogether. For Sayan, it was all about being present and believing in God. 

"There comes a time in every sportsman's life when they stop worrying about the outcome, trust in God, and fully immerse themselves in the process. So, that was my thinking just to be in the present and wait for my turn," Sayan expressed. 

Read Also | Bengal Cricket: 7 U-19 cricketers from Bengal who can play for India in future

During tough periods like these, players always get some people clapping and cheering for them. For Sayan, along with his family, there were a few people, who guided and supported him throughout the process. 

"Maco da (Shib Shankar Paul) and Kanchan (Maity) da gave me chances in BPL And Laxmi (Ratan Shukla) da helped me and gave me a chance to come back in Bengal Cricket." 

"I must say about Akash da, one of my colleagues in my office, who is a very good bowler himself. He supported me in every aspect of my life. I think without his support, I could not have made the come back like that," Sayan stated.

Age? Not a problem

But, in this process of being in and out of the team, Sayan has reached an age where most cricketers start to reach the end of their careers. But, not all. 

Cricketers like Scott Boland have proved that, if you can keep putting in the hard work, even as a fast bowler you can debut and play at the highest level even after 30. Sayan believes that too. 

"Hope keeps us alive. I don’t think a lot about the outcome. But, when you have a goal to achieve something big in your professional career, you always stay motivated," the 32-year-old shared. 

"There is nothing as sweet as a comeback, when you are down and about to lose. If you are thinking about a comeback, you have to keep pushing the boundaries. I have small targets to do well in club cricket and give Mohunbagan trophies. I want to make a strong impact in Bengal Cricket in every format."

Read Also | Exclusive | "Felt like my debut:" Bengal pacer Ishan Porel now wants to enjoy his cricket after a solid comeback to first-class cricket

The love for "Red Cherry"

Now, after a great white-ball return, Sayan Ghosh wants to don the whites for Bengal again. Amidst all the success around white-ball cricket, his love for red-ball cricket remained the same; like a 10-year-old with a new ball in hand. 

"We are playing well in all formats, especially in the Ranji trophy. It was unfortunate for us not to qualify despite playing well in the group stages. The Bihar match and the Kerala match were gone because of the rain and that was the reason (we could not qualify). 

"The last time I played a Ranji Trophy game was in 2017. I have played 6 matches and got two five-wicket hauls. However, because of certain team combinations, I haven't played red-ball cricket in a long time now. 

"My belief is always there to make a strong comeback in red ball cricket."

India started their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign with a win over Bangladesh on Thursday in Dubai. Despite a ton from Towhid Hridoy, Mohammad Shami's five-wicket haul had restricted Bangladesh to 228 in the first inning. Shubman Gill then scored his 8th ODI ton to take India home with six wickets in hands and 21 balls remaining. Here are the highlights of the Bangladesh vs India match in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Shami gave India a perfect start

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and decided to put runs on the board. With three pacers in the team and two excellent spinners, they were confident to defend anything on that Dubai wicket, which everyone knew would get slower with time.

However, to put pressure on a team like India, the Tigers needed at least a respectable total on the board. A fiery opening spell from Mohammad Shami and Harshit Rana put them in a spot of bother. Shami nicked off Soumya Sarkar in the first over on a duck while captain Shanto was sent back by Rana in the next over on a duck as well. 

Mehidy Hasan Miraz (5) tried to build a partnership with Tanzid Hasan but Shami got the better of him in the seventh over.

Rohit messed up Axar's hat-trick

Post that wicket, Axar Patel was brought into the attack by Rohit Sharma and he nearly became the first Indian bowler to get a hat-trick in an ICC event for India. Patel first removed Tanzid Hasan on 25. KL Rahul took a sharp catch behind the stumps. In the next ball, Mushfiqur Rahim edged one to Rahul to bring Axar on a hat-trick. 

In the hat-trick ball, Axar did what he could have done, but Rohit Sharma missed an easy catch at the first slip to dismiss the historical moment. 

Record partnership from Hridoy and Ali

From being 35/5, Jaker Ali and Towhid Hridoy put up a massive 154-run partnership, which is the highest 6th-wicket partnership for Bangladesh in ODI cricket. But, the scenes would not have been the same if Hardik Pandya had not dropped Hridoy on 24 in the 20th over. 

Shami with a five-fer

Not only that two overs later, KL Rahul missed a stumping chance of Jaker Ali on 24. Finally, Mohammad Shami was able to break the partnership as Jaker Ali tried to change gears against Shami’s off-cutter on 68 off 114 balls. 

Rishad Hossain tried to score a few quick runs but Harshit Rana got the better of him with a short ball in the 46th over. Bangladesh would have gotten more runs if Towhid Hridoy had not cramped badly. The right-handed batter nearly had to drag himself out of the crease to complete his runs. He was on the ground in agonising pain multiple times. 

Shami meantime dismissed Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Taskin Ahmed to get his give-wicket haul. With that wicket, Shami also became the Indian bowler with the most wickets in ICC events. 

Fighting maiden ODI ton from Hridoy

Hridoy though kept himself going and completed his maiden ODI ton even under tremendous pain. He was finally caught in the short fine leg on 100 off Harshit Rana as Bangladesh finished on 228 in the first inning. 

Flying start to India's inning

In the break, Axar Patel stated that the wickets got slower as the ball got older. So, with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill at the top of the order, it was quite evident they would have gone for some quick runs against the pacers. 

They did that as India reached 69 runs in the first powerplay but lost Rohit Sharma on 41 off 36 in the second last ball of the powerplay. Rohit tried to clear in the circle, but could not connect the short ball from Taskin and was caught around the edge of the circle. Rohit went back to the dressing room but not before becoming the second fastest to score 11000 ODI runs. 

Bangladeshi spinners controlled the middle overs

Virat Kohli came at number three and soon Shanto brought his spinners Miraz and Rishad to stop the modern master. The plan fell into place as well and Kohli (22) was caught at backward point while trying a cut shot against Rishad. 

However, Shubman Gill looked apart as he scored his fourth consecutive ODI fifty. Shreyas Iyer came at number four and after a few good-looking strokes, was outfoxed by a slower one from Mustafizur Rahaman on 15 from 17 balls.

Classy and consistent as ever! ✨

1⃣6⃣th ODI FIFTY for Shubman Gill 👏👏

Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/ggnxmdG0VK#TeamIndia | #BANvIND | #ChampionsTrophy | @ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/4nvl8Bw90H

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 20, 2025

With spinners bowling at random, India sent Axar Patel at number five as the run flow got stuck as well. It looked like India were waiting for the spell of spinners to finish. But, Patel could resist the wrong one from Risahd and top-edged to put the match somewhat level. 

Bangladesh could have made things worse for India if Jaker Ali would not have missed an easy catch at deep mid-wicket on 7 in the 37th over. 

KL Rahul dropped on 9 runs#ChampionsTrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/0lj0f8PXaJ

— 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒔 (@Shebas_10dulkar) February 20, 2025

With the net run rate being around 4 and 5, India decided to go slow and steady. Gill and Rahul started accumulating singles and doubles with a boundary here and there. They completed their 50-run partnership in 66 balls as Rishad Hossain finished his spell with 38/2 in 10 overs. 

As India got close to the target, Gill brought out his big shots and completed his consecutive ODI ton in 125 balls to take India home. Gill was patient and skilful enough to take the game deep and away from Bangladesh with his 8th ODI ton in just 51 games. 

Gill remained unbeaten on 101 from 129 balls while Rahul finished off in style with a six as he was undefeated on 41 from 47. India bagged their first win in the Champions Trophy and will face Pakistan in their next game on Sunday.

BAN vs IND: Match Summary

A solid start for Team India in the Champions Trophy!

Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 101* and KL Rahul’s steady 41* guided India to a five-wicket victory over Bangladesh. 🩵🇮🇳

A confident chase to kick off the campaign in style!

#INDvBAN #ShubmanGill #TeamIndia #KlRahul pic.twitter.com/8PqJorE0m8

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) February 20, 2025

Indian ODI captain Rohit Sharma went past Sachin Tendulkar to become the second fastest to score 11000 ODI runs during India vs Bangladesh match in ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Rohit, who has taken 261 innings to reach the landmark, went past Sachin Tendulkar who had taken 276 innings to reach the 11000 ODI runs. 

Rohit now has become only the 10th batter in history of one-day cricket to cross 11000 runs. Among the Indians, only Sourav Ganguly, Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar has scored more runs than him in the format.

Before the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Rohit was sitting at 10988 runs in the ODI format and needed only 12 runs to reach that landmark. However, Rohit could not go past the record of his fellow Indian teammate Virat Kohli who had taken only 222 innings to score 11000 runs in the Onde-Day format. 

Read Also | Fastest to take 200 ODI wickets: Mohammad Shami breaks the record of this Australian pacer

Rohit scored 41 runs off 36 balls as tried to go for a big shot against Taskin Ahmed in the final over of the powerplay. India were chasing 229 against Bangladesh in the first match of the tournament.

Read Also | Champions Trophy 2025: India vs Pakistan match preview | Head-to-head stats, Possible XI, match prediction, streaming details

Another Indian in the top five list of fastest to score 11000 ODI runs is former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who had taken 288 innings to score those runs. 

1⃣1⃣,0⃣0⃣0⃣ ODI runs and counting for Rohit Sharma! 🙌🙌

He becomes the fourth Indian batter to achieve this feat! 👏👏

Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/ggnxmdG0VK#TeamIndia | #BANvIND | #ChampionsTrophy | @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/j01YfhxPEH

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 20, 2025

Fastest to score 11000 ODI runs (Innings)

Virat Kohli -222
Rohit Sharma - 261
Sachin Tendulkar - 276
Ricky Ponting - 286
Sourav Ganguly - 288