India’s dominance over the rest of the world in limited-overs cricket continued as they won the 2025 Champions Trophy at Dubai International Stadium.
The four-wicket win over New Zealand in the final in front of a sell-out crowd was their second major crown in the space of two years, having won the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean last year.
In the two years since the start of their home 50-over World Cup, they have played 24 matches in ICC events, and won 23 of them.
Their latest triumph was sealed when Ravindra Jadeja hit the last ball of the penultimate over of the tournament for four, to complete a neatly timed run chase.
In a tournament nominally staged in Pakistan, India have played five matches in Dubai, and were comfortable winners in each.
New Zealand posed the greatest challenge to them in both the group stage and the final, but India were up to the task both times.
Despite their class, India did betray some big match nerves. New Zealand were helped on their way to setting India 252 to win.
The Indians dropped four catches in all, with Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer the culprits.
They had been caught out by a fast start by the brilliant Rachin Ravindra. The left-handed opener had made two centuries previously in the tournament, and looked in princely touch from the off.
He rode his luck, too. First, he was dropped by Shami on a sharp return catch.
Next, he was given out caught behind off Varun Chakravarthy, only to be reprieved. He had missed it by a distance, as the video review showed. Then he was dropped by a diving Iyer off the next ball.
His fortune could not last, and he was bowled by the first ball of Kuldeep Yadav, having given his side a start with 37 from 29 balls.
No one else made it look so easy. Daryl Mitchell top scored with 63, but it was tough going, coming as it did from 101 balls. Michael Bracewell gave the late overs some impetus with some crisp hitting in a 40-ball 53.
Matt Henry, the bowler who took five wickets for New Zealand when these sides met in the group stage, missed out with the shoulder injury he sustained in the semi-final win over South Africa.
It left them with an inexperienced pace attack, but it was their spinners on whom the onus was likely to fall.
Rohit went on the charge from the start, slapping the second ball of the run chase, from Kyle Jamieson, for six.
India were coasting with him and Gill at the crease. The openers shared 105 for the first wicket before Gill became the latest victim of the extraordinary fielding of Glenn Phillips.
Last time these sides met, it had been Virat Kohli who perished after hitting the ball in Phillips general vicinity, only for him to dive full length to his right and dismiss him.
This time, Gill laced a drive above the head of the New Zealand allrounder at extra cover, only for him to pluck the ball one-handed above his head.
Suddenly, New Zealand had an opening, and they doubled down their optimism shortly after when Kohli followed for just one.
After he was given lbw to Bracewell, Kohli and Rohit could find no good reason to review the decision. As he trudged off, the ground was silent, save for the sound of some fireworks going off above the stadium roof.
When Rohit went a few overs later, New Zealand were sure they were in with a chance. The belief dissipated slight when Iyer was dropped on 44 by Jamieson with India on 173-3.
It wasn’t hugely damaging. Iyer when having added just four more, and Axar Patel became Bracewell’s second victim as New Zealand’s spinners squeezed the run rate.
Still, despite the resistance the New Zealanders put up, India had too much firepower. KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya took them to within two blows of victory before the latter was bounced out by Jamieson.
That only delayed the inevitable, and Jadeja got the job done shortly after as India etched their names on to the trophy for a third time.
