India pulled off a convincing 44-run victory over New Zealand in their final group-stage match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (March 2).

Defending a modest total of 249, the Indian spinners ran through the Kiwi batting line-up, bundling them out for a paltry 205 in 45.3 overs.

Varun Chakaravarthy was the wrecker-in-chief with the ball, returning with a five-wicket haul (5-42 in 10 overs) while Kuldeep Yadav (2-56 in 9.3 overs), Axar Patel (1-32 in 10 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (1-36 in 8 overs) shared four scalps among them. All-rounder Hardik Pandya took the remaining one wicket.

With this win, the Rohit Sharma-led side finished on top of the Group A points table. They will face Australia in the first semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday (March 4), with the tournament now reaching its business end.

Ahead of the big game, former cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra sees Chakaravarthy as a potential match-winner for India.

"Bumrah got injured and you said you had to include someone in the team. Four spinners were already there. Gautam Gambhir and the selectors decided to pick a fifth as well. When they did that, many analysts like me, guilty as charged, were asking why you need so many spinners," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Chopra reckons Chakaravarthy's match-winning spell against New Zealand has cemented India's strategy for the semi-final, with the team likely to field four spinners.

"However, India went with five spinners. They didn't play him in the first two matches. Here they dropped a fast bowler and played him, and the rest, as they say, is history. The template is set now. Four spinners against Australia and Varun Chakaravarthy could be our trump card," he added.

Chopra lauded the mystery spinner's rise, especially given his struggles at the same venue during the 2021 T20 World Cup.

"It was a storm named Varun Chakaravarthy that blew them away. He trapped their guys one by one. It was absolutely incredible. Varun Chakaravarthy needs to be spoken about because this was the ground where he played the 2021 T20 World Cup. He got very few opportunities and then he was put in cold storage," Chopra remarked.

The ex-India opener also recalled how Chakaravarthy was dismissed as an IPL specialist before he reclaimed his place back in the national side.

"He was considered not good enough. He was considered an IPL bowler and that he is not that good at the Indian level. The guy went back and put in a lot of hard work. In fact, he was also playing in the TNPL (Tamil Nadu Premier League). He even put an Instagram story - 'I wish I had a better PR.' He felt people don't notice him because he didn't have a good PR," Chopra revealed.

"Then he just continued to practice and take wickets. He did extremely well in two IPL seasons, made Kolkata the champions, bowled the difficult overs, and then he was once again selected for India. Then he kept picking up five-wicket hauls. He thrashed South Africa in South Africa and England at home. His wicket tally in two successive series was the best in Indian T20 cricket history," he elaborated.