India win Champions Trophy

Mar 10, 2025 Sports

SportsMax – India clinched the Champions Trophy in 2025 with an over to spare, beating New Zealand for the second time in the tournament.

Rohit Sharma and his triumphant squad. (ICC via Getty Images)

Rohit Sharma propelled India to a four-wicket victory over New Zealand to claim the Champions Trophy title.

India’s spinners did most of the damage with the ball, and though they had to endure some nervy moments in their own innings, they were able to get over the line with six balls remaining.

It rounds off an unbeaten Champions Trophy campaign for India, who beat New Zealand twice en route to lifting the trophy in Dubai on Sunday.

Will Young and Rachin Ravindra made a slow start for New Zealand with just one boundary in the first two overs, but they soon found their groove as they recorded the biggest opening stand against India in this tournament (57 runs).

Mohammed Shami fumbled a catch on Ravindra, but Varun Chakaravarthy (2-45) was soon brought in, dismissing Young for 15 shortly after.

Despite that dismissal, the Blackcaps hit 69-1 in the powerplay and looked set for an imposing target until India’s spinners hit their stride, with two wickets in quick succession.

KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja hug after the victory. (ICC via Getty Images)

Kuldeep Yadav (2-40) took Ravindra (37) with his first ball and caught and bowled Kane Williamson (11) just two overs later to effectively halt New Zealand’s momentum in the 13th over.

Daryl Mitchell (63) steadied the ship somewhat for New Zealand, with his slowest half-century ever in ODIs, and it took 45 overs for them to breach the 200-run mark.

Michael Bracewell ensured a strong finish, though, hitting three fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 53 off 40 balls, taking New Zealand to 251-7.

With their target set, India came out on a mission for their innings, with Rohit (76) leading the charge with a classic showing. He hit a six off his first delivery to set the tone and reached his half-century in just 41 balls.

The Men in Blue strolled to 100, thanks to Rohit’s partnership with Shubman Gill (31), but New Zealand flipped the script with two quick wickets.

Glenn Phillips made a superb, flying one-handed catch to dismiss Gill, with his replacement Virat Kohli (one) lasting just two deliveries before he was trapped lbw by Michael Bracewell (2-28).

Rohit’s determination to get India back on track saw him stumped by Tom Latham in the 27th over, but it allowed Shreyas Iyer (48) to come to the fore, though he got some luck along the way.

Kyle Jamieson dropped a sitter from Iyer, with the ball slipping through his hands, but Ravindra made no mistake after the drinks break, holding on to stop the Indian batsman just short of his half-century.

It was too little, too late though as Axar Patel (29) and KL Rahul (34 not out) edged them ever closer, setting up Ravindra Jadeja to seal victory with a four.

Scores: India 254 for 6 (Rohit 76, Iyer 48, Rahul 34*, Bracewell 2-28) beat New Zealand 251 for 7 (Mitchell 63, Bracewell 53, Kuldeep 2-40, Varun 2-45) by four wickets.

(India win Champions Trophy)

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Champions Trophy, Champions Trophy title., India, New Zealand, Rohit Sharma

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