India achieved a remarkable triumph in the Champions Trophy final, defeating New Zealand by four wickets on Sunday, thereby securing their third title in the history of the tournament.
Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, was instrumental in the team’s success, scoring a crucial 76 runs off 83 balls. His innings included seven boundaries and three sixes, providing a solid foundation for India’s chase. Lokesh Rahul contributed significantly as well, remaining unbeaten with a composed 34 runs, guiding India to a total of 254-6 in just 49 overs. This victory allowed India to clinch the Champions Trophy for the first time since 2013 and marks a significant milestone, breaking a 12-year drought.
The victory in the Champions Trophy adds to India’s impressive collection of ICC titles, which now stands at seven, placing them right behind Australia, who leads with ten titles. Notably, this triumph follows only eight months after Rohit Sharma led the Indian team to their second T20 World Cup victory in Barbados, marking an exceptional period for Indian cricket in white-ball formats. Since the onset of the 2023 ODI World Cup, India has competed in 23 matches across three major ICC limited-overs tournaments, suffering just one defeat during the Cricket World Cup final against Australia.
3 Big Factors Behind India’s Win
Team Selection: When Rohit Sharma and Co. went ahead with four spinners in the playing eleven, there was some criticism about the move. Proving everyone wrong, Head Coach Gautam Gambhir went ahead with the combination which eventually paid rich dividends. Gambhir also picked KL Rahul ahead of maverick wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant, a move that turned out to be a masterstroke. Rahul had a great series behind the stumps and also chipped in with crucial knocks in the semis and the final.
Another aspect of the team selection that helped Team India remain unbeaten side in the tournament was the all-rounders. When Rohit was asked about playing four spinners, he had candidly said “We are playing only two spinners, the other two are all-rounders”. Jadeja, Axar and Hardik — all contributed with bat and ball in hands and truly performed as world-class all-rounders.
Timely Inclusion of Varun Chakaravarthy: Team India introduced their fourth spinner in Varun Chakaravarthy just ahead of Semis in their league match against New Zealand. The mystery spinner took five wickets, kind of forcing the management to play him in the crucial matches. The shot hit a bull’s eye as many opposition batters from Australia and New Zealand found him tough to negotiate. He kept it tight and chipped away wickets at crucial moments, turning out to be India’s ace in the Semifinal and the summit clash.
Rohit Sharma’s Leadership: The way Rohit Sharma led team India, especially the way he used four spinners, was commendable as often it gets trickier to utilise the resources optimally when you have a problem of plenty in the team. Sharma rotated his bowlers astutely, keeping pressure on the opposition batters throughout the innings. Going in with just two pacers, that too with Hardik being their second pacer, Sharma had full faith in bowlers and team combination. His batting had a huge impact on India’s unbeaten run. He didn’t get big hundreds, but gave team India a brisk start in almost every game on a tough Dubai pitch, putting India upfront and laying the foundation for the win. In the final, he truly rose to the occasion and was awarded the player of the match for his quickfire 76 off just 83 balls.
India’s stellar run in the Champions Trophy 2025 ended with Rohit Sharma and Co. securing the coveted title for the third time, defeating New Zealand by four wickets in the finals. It was India’s spinners who once again tormented the opposition, taking bulk of the wickets and stifling the Kiwi batters. New Zealand, in its first innings, could only manage 251, a target that was expected to be a par total considering Dubai’s pitch.
However, when Team India came to bat, it looked like it would be smooth sailing as battling looked pretty easy in the powerplay. However, it was Rohit Sharma’s brilliance that made the same pitch look like a batter’s paradise as he went about his business with no fuss whatsoever. The captain again gave India a brisk start and added a century partnership with Shubman Gill. But once Sharma departed, followed by Kohli’s quick exit, the chase got a bit nervy for Indians.
