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'Amazing feeling': Indian players celebrate Champions Trophy triumph
India were clinical throughout the tournament, their spinners produced match-winning spells and their batting unit remained solid until the end
- PUBLISHED: Sun 9 Mar 2025, 9:56 PM
We will rock You, the Queen classic, reverberated around the Dubai International Stadium as India moved closer to a glorious Champions Trophy triumph after overcoming a few hiccups against New Zealand in Sunday’s final.
And when Ravindra Jadeja pulled Will O'Rourke into the deep square leg boundary to drag India, who were chasing 252, across the line for a four-wicket win with six balls to spare, fireworks illuminated the sky.
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Under the iconic Ring of Fire, the Indian players celebrated the moment with ‘Gangnam Style’ moves on the pitch.
After five straight wins and two months after their Australian Test series defeat, the Indians, both on the field and in the stands, had reasons to celebrate in style.
Having played and won all their matches at the Champions Trophy in Dubai, Rohit Sharma’s team were the overwhelming favourites against New Zealand in the final.
The Kiwis, who elected to bat, did put up a fighting total — 251/7 — on the back of Daryl Mitchell (63 off 101 balls) and Michael Bracewell’s (53 not out off 40 balls) fine half-centuries after Indian spinners turned up the heat on their top-order.
Kuldeep Yadav (2/40), Varun Chakaravarthy (2/45) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/30) were outstanding with the ball.
Axar Patel, the fourth spinner in the team, went wicketless, but the left-arm spinner kept the pressure on the Kiwi batters with his tight line and length.
Then Rohit set the tone for India’s win with a magnificent 76 off 83 balls as he shared a 105-run partnership for the first wicket with Shubman Gill (31).
But New Zealand fought back again, this time with the ball by taking wickets in regular intervals.
The Indians, though, were equal to the task as Shreyas Iyer’s 48 off 62 balls, KL Rahul’s unbeaten 34 off 33 balls and Axar Patel’s 29 off 40 balls ensured India won their second ICC trophy in eight months, having clinched the ICC T20 World Cup title on June 29, 2024, in Barbados.
“It is very nice. We played some good cricket through the tournament. To have the result our way is a great feeling,” skipper Rohit said after receiving the man-of-the-match award.
While Rohit earned the MOM for his knock, it was left-arm spinner Yadav who had decisively turned the game in India’s favour.
When the Kiwis were in cruise control on a pretty decent wicket to bat, Yadav bowled the dangerous Rachin Ravindra (37 off 29 balls) with a ball that turned in, and then in his next over, he had Kane Williamson (11 off 14 balls), the New Zealand batting superstar, caught and bowled with another turning ball.
Yadav credited the team management for wonderfully guiding the bowling unit in the tournament.
“I don't believe in favourites tags but we have been doing brilliantly. This win is dedicated to our fans. It is easy to say that we have four spinners in the team, but it is very tough to manage four spinners. There was a lot of planning and all credit to Rohit bhai,” he said.
The only disappointment for the Indian fans in the 25,000-capacity stadium was the rare failure with the bat for Virat Kohli who fell to Bracewell for one.
But when Jadeja hit the match-winning boundary, Kohli was among the first players to run into the ground to celebrate.
“It's been amazing, we wanted to bounce back after a tough Australia tour. Lovely playing with a bunch of amazing youngsters. They're stepping up and taking India in the right direction,” the 36-year-old batting superstar, who scored 218 runs in the tournament, said.
“After playing for so long, you look forward to playing under pressure. To win titles, the whole team has to step up in different games. People have played such impactful knocks and had spells, that collective effort is what has done it for us.”
India were indeed the best of team of the tournament, consistently putting up solid all-round performances.
Their critics may continue to point to the ‘so-called’ advantage of playing at only one venue, Dubai, compared to the other teams who had to travel for their matches in Pakistan, the main host.
But to win matches on the field, you need to put your best foot forward.
And India were clinical in all the matches, their spinners suffocated the opponents with their combination of turn and accuracy, and their batting unit remained solid until the end.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 251-7 in 50 overs (D. Mitchell 63, M. Bracewell 53 not out, R. Ravindra 37; K. Yadav 2-40, V Chakravarthy 2-45)
India 254-6 in 49 overs (R. Sharma 76, S. Iyer 48, KL Rahul 34 not out; M. Bracewell 2-28, M. Santner 2-46)
Result: India won by four wickets
Toss: New Zealand
Rituraj Borkakoty is Sports Editor and has spent more than two decades writing on his sporting heroes. He also loves an underdog story, so if you have one, share it with him. He would love to bring it to life.