Watch: Virat Kohli Stunned With Flying Glenn Phillips’ Blinder During Champions Trophy 2025

When Virat Kohli nailed the cut-short through point against Matt Henry during India’s clash against New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, many predicted that the ball went flashing through the region for a boundary, but it couldn’t clear flying Glenn Phillips.

The Kiwi had already registered his name among some of the best fielders of the tournament as he grabbed a blinder during the opening game of the eight-team clash against Pakistan at the National Stadium in Karachi.

India put into bat first; management rests Harshit Rana

In both the last two occasions of the Champions Trophy 2025, India batted first and used the conditions pretty well with the ball under the heat and restricted the opponents to a stable total that they chased down quite comfortably.

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But the challenge of batting first was different from setting a score, and a side would never want to do that straightaway in a knockout clash. New Zealand’s captain, Mitchell Santer, won the toss and decided to bowl first as he wanted to keep the winning momentum ongoing.

The Blackcaps can easily aim to hold the same winning momentum, as their next fixture of the 50-over tournament will be at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore during the second semifinal. So, they didn’t need to check the pace of Dubai's surface in the afternoon, unlike India, who brought their mystery spinner, Varun Chakravarthy, for the clash and decided to rest Harshit Rana.

Daryl Mitchell, who missed the last clash against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi with a fever, replaced out-of-form Devon Conway for the fixture. It was hard to leave out the centurion from the last encounter, Rachin Ravindra, for this game.

Watch: Glenn Phillips stuns Virat Kohli with a spectacular catch

India lost Shubman Gill on the fifth ball of the third over as he was trapped leg before the stumps by Matt Henry. It was a rare failure for the opening batter, who walked back to the dressing room in the powerplay of the ODI contest for the first time in two years.

Rohit looked to pull Kyle Jamieson but failed to get the elevation right as Will Young grabbed a fine catch to send back the T20 World Cup-winning captain for 15 runs. Virat Kohli walked at number three with a huge cheer as he was celebrating his landmark of the 300th ODI.

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Virat Kohli smashed two fours and looked to cut the short ball from Henry through point. It went flat and was flying to the right side of the point fielder, Glenn Phillips, who leaped in the air and grabbed a spectacular catch. The look on Virat Kohli’s face when he saw the catch was priceless, as the entire ground supporting India was shocked.

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Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel bail India out with a 98-run stand

Both new batters, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel, stopped playing the shots and started to work on the singles and doubles. The latter used his feet well to smash the boundaries, while Iyer also powered a few big shots around the park.

Shreyas celebrated his fifty, while Axar, looking to pull the short ball from Rachin Ravindra, found Kane Williamson at the third-man region. But the 98-run stand for the fourth wicket was enough to provide the middle and lower order of the Indian side to aim for a decent total of over 270 in the first innings to challenge the Kiwis under the lights.