Last Updated on 1 month by Charbel Coorey

Matt Henry, New Zealand’s attack leader, was visibly distraught after failing a final fitness test ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy Final against India. His shoulder injury, suffered while taking the catch of Heinrich Klaasen in the semi-final, was a body blow to the Black Caps’ hopes of a first ICC white-ball trophy since 2000 given his powerplay exploits.

Henry’s absence meant New Zealand had a target batting first. They realistically needed 280 to challenge India’s long batting lineup without his powerplay threat. Following Kuldeep Yadav’s quick double strike at the start of the middle overs’ period, the Black Caps struggled, with Michael Bracewell’s cameo eventually taking them over the psychological 250-run barrier.

However, a strong Indian powerplay would give them a huge headstart in the chase. Rohit Sharma took advantage. The captain led the way as India hit 59 off the first eight overs against Kyle Jamieson, Will O’Rourke and Nathan Smith, who all couldn’t replicate what Henry often produces.

We missed Matt Henry in the final – Mitchell Santner

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner admitted his side missed Matt Henry. The seamer finished with the most wickets (10), including five against India last week.

“He was the leading wicket-taker going into this game, and he’s an outstanding bowler, as we’ve seen,” Santner said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “He seems to be able to nip it on wickets that don’t look like they should nip, so I guess we missed that today. I feel for Matty. He’s a massive team man, and he looked pretty distraught.”

Santner’s point about Henry nipping the ball is spot on. Since the start of 2023, Henry has taken 16 wickets in the powerplay at an economy of just 4.31. He has dismissed Rohit Sharma twice for 59 runs (SR 100) and Shubman Gill twice for 62 runs (SR 76.5), so his absence left a big hole as the Black Caps aimed to defend a total which looked at least 30 runs short.

“Absolutely gutted for Matt Henry,” said former New Zealand pace bowler Tim Southee on ESPNcricinfo’s MatchDay program before the final commenced. “He’s been the key man in one-day cricket for New Zealand for some time. Coming off a five-for against India and at that ground as well, so massive loss for New Zealand.”

The Black Caps fought admirably in the middle overs, picking up Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in a ten-over period that saw them come right back into the game. However, India’s excellent depth came to the fore, with Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and KL Rahul all play vital knocks.

“After the start [we had with the bat], we were probably thinking of a score around 275 or 280,” said Santner. “Credit has to go to Kuldeep for the way he bowled straight after the powerplay, and Varun inside the powerplay.”