The 2025 Champions Trophy is being dominated by the bowlers. While the batsmen are scoring quick centuries, the bowlers are also bowling out the batsmen with their lethal bowling. The history of the Champions Trophy has been great, where many legendary players have given match-winning performances for their team. Especially performing well against a strong team like India is a big achievement for any bowler.
Recently, Matt Henry has registered the best bowling figures against India in the history of the Champions Trophy by taking 5 wickets against India. With this historic record, let’s take a look at the best bowling performance against India in the Champions Trophy.
Dominant Bowling Performances Against India in Champions Trophy History
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Douglas Hondo: Shaking India’s Top Order (2002)
In 2002, Zimbabwean fast bowler Douglas Hondo performed brilliantly against India. In this match held in Colombo, he took 4 wickets for 62 runs in 9 overs. Although India scored 288 runs thanks to Mohammad Kaif’s unbeaten innings of 111 runs, Hondo shook the top order of Team India with his performance.
He put India in trouble by dismissing big batsmen like Sourav Ganguly, Dinesh Mongia, Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh. Although India managed to win this match by 14 runs, Hondo’s bowling will always be remembered.
Shoaib Akhtar: The Rawalpindi Express Unleashed (2004)
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Shoaib Akhtar, one of the fastest bowlers in cricket history, bowled fiery spells against India in the 2004 Champions Trophy. In this match played in Birmingham, the Rawalpindi Express took 4 wickets for 36 runs in 9.5 overs.
Akhtar dismissed Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra to bundle out India for just 200 runs. Thanks to his lethal bowling, Pakistan won the match by 3 wickets in the last over.
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan: A Devastating Spell (2004)
Apart from Shoaib Akhtar, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan also bowled brilliantly in the same match. While Akhtar took 4 wickets, Rana bowled an even more economical spell, taking 4 wickets for 25 runs in 9 overs. His bowling was so lethal that India’s top order was completely shattered.
He pushed India on the backfoot by dismissing stalwarts like VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Ajit Agarkar. Pakistan won this match and advanced to the semi-finals because of their outstanding bowling.
Matt Henry: A Historic 5-Wicket Haul (2025)
Now let’s talk about the top performance of this list, which has just been recorded in the Champions Trophy 2025. New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry bowled brilliantly against India and took 5 wickets. Henry shook the Indian batting by dismissing Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami.
Let us tell you that in this match, he took 5 wickets for 42 runs in just 8 overs and restricted India to 249/9. His fast bowling made it extremely difficult for Indian batsmen to play against him, and this performance turned out to be the best bowling display against India in the history of the Champions Trophy.
It is a matter of pride for any bowler to bowl brilliantly against India in the Champions Trophy. Matt Henry, Rana Naved, Shoaib Akhtar and Douglas Hondo have made it to this list by performing brilliantly against India in their respective eras.
Also Read: Gautam Gambhir’s Masterplan: Aims for the Perfect Game in ICC Champions Trophy Finals
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