Matt Henry loves bowling against India. The Men in Blue fans still have nightmares of his spell at the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2019 semi-final in Manchester, where he brought the Indian team to its knees with a match-winning 3/37. Now, Henry’s class has made him the first-ever bowler to take a five-wicket haul against India at the ICC Champions Trophy. He claimed a superb 5/42 in the last league match of the Champions Trophy 2025. The Kiwi pacer’s efforts restricted India to 249/9 on Sunday, March 2.
Matt Henry rattles India to create all-time record
Against the blue of India, Matt Henry is a different beast. However, one must give credit to his sumptuous rise as a white-ball bowler in recent times. Henry found seam movement and his wrist position caused more trouble against the likes of Shubman Gill, who got trapped in front of the wicket before wasting a DRS on it as well. The next victim was Virat Kohli, who was left stunned by Glenn Phillips’ incredible diving catch. In his first spell of five overs, Henry leaked just 26 runs for his two wickets.
In his next spell during the death overs, the 33-year-old banged in short balls and claimed three wickets more. He was helped by another spectacular catch, this time by Kane Williamson, who dived to his left to send Ravindra Jadeja packing. Henry gave away just 4 runs off the 48th over before completing his fifer by dismissing Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami. With this, he surpassed Naved-ul-Hasan’s record of bowling the best figures against India at Champions Trophy history.
Best Bowling Figures v India in ICC Champions Trophy
| Bowler | Country | Figures |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Henry | New Zealand | 5/42 |
| Naved-ul-Hasan | Pakistan | 4/25 |
| Shoaib Akhtar | Pakistan | 4/36 |
| Douglas Hondo | Zimbabwe | 4/62 |
| Mohammad Amir | Pakistan | 3/16 |
Best Bowling Figures for New Zealand in ICC Champions Trophy
| Bowler | Opponent | Venue | Year | Figures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Oram | USA | The Oval | 2004 | 5/36 |
| Matt Henry | India | Dubai | 2025 | 5/42 |
| Shayne O’Connor | Pakistan | Nairobi | 2000 | 5/46 |
