India Triumphs in ICC Champions Trophy 2025

The final conclusion match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was as spectacular as the whole series was. Finally, India Triumphs ICC Champions trophy by defeating New Zealand in a very tight match by four wickets. This is India’s third title in the Champions Trophy tournament’s history. The final match took place in the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, and it was way too similar to swinging on a see-saw with each new over between India and New Zealand. Each Indian is celebrating with joy today, as the rollercoaster ride of emotions throughout this Champions Trophy finally ended well for India.

Table of Contents

The Last Run for the Title

New Zealand Wins the Toss but Struggles to Capitalize

Initially, the luck was in New Zealand’s favor. They won the crucial toss in this grand finale and opted to bat first after winning the toss. But it didn’t work well for New Zealand as India’s bowlers demonstrated exceptional discipline in their bowling.

The Kiwi batters were finding it really hard to gain momentum to score big runs. The Indian Pacers seemed a little off with their bowling performances at first. The openers of New Zealand were facing no difficulty in getting boundaries in their overs.

Rohit Sharma’s Smart Captaincy Turns the Game

India Team captain, Rohit Sharma, decided that India needed to change their bowling attack as soon as possible to get some wickets. He displayed his confidence in the spin bowlers, and they stepped up to give India the required breakthroughs. The four spinners, namely Varun Chakkrawarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel bowled exceptionally well and brought wrath on New Zealand’s batsman.

Daryl Mitchell Anchors the Innings, but Run Rate Suffers

Daryl Mitchell(New Zealand) tried his best to stabilize the innings by playing a cautious knock of 63 runs in 101 balls. His innings made sure that New Zealand preserved wickets on their side and batted for the whole 50 overs. But some of the reviewers also blame him for slowing down the run rate, which added pressure on the upcoming batsman of New Zealand.

The slow run rate of New Zealand was accelerated by Michael Bracewell at the end. He made an aggressive 53 runs on just 40 balls, which propelled New Zealand to a fighting total of 251 runs. Both Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy got 2-2 wickets, while Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja got 1-1 wickets each.

India’s Confident Chase Led by Rohit Sharma

The chase of 252 by India began with great confidence and aggression from Rohit Sharma. We got a glance of the vintage Rohit Sharma again at the right time when it was needed. He led India from the front and scored an important 76 runs for the team in just 83 balls. Due to his fearless batting, India’s total jumped to 100 runs without a single wicket. But after this crucial partnership between Gill and Rohit, things went a little off for India.

Middle-Order Stumbles, Pressure Builds on India

First, Shubhman Gill departed, but everyone was still hopeful that Virat and Rohit would stabilize the damage. But Virat got LBW on the second delivery that he played. After this, huge pressure came to India.

Rohit and Shreyas tried to stabilize the situation again, but the excessive dot balls from New Zealand’s spinners intimidated Rohit to hit boundaries. He got stumped while trying to do the same. The required run rate jumped to 6 runs per over after his wicket.

Shreyas and Axar played a very mature partnership to escalate India from a tough situation. Iyer’s composed 48 and Patel’s valuable 29 provided the foundation that India needed. At last, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya took advantage of the situation Shreyas and Axar created by scoring boundaries and putting pressure back on New Zealand. In the end, Jadeja scored the winning boundary and took India to victory with two overs still left in the innings.

Read Also:- India vs New Zealand, Champions Trophy Final 2025: As It Happened

India’s Journey to Victory: A Story of Dominance

Group Stage Dominance

The final victory that India grabbed was not just a one-day thing. It required constant effort and continuous display of dominance, which India did in almost all the games that it played. India was placed in group A with giant opponents like New Zealand, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. India not only won the matches but also dominated each win against all these three teams in the group stage matches.

a. Victory Against Bangladesh

In their first opening match, India secured a comfortable six-wicket win against Bangladesh thanks to the aggressive partnership of Rohit Sharma(41 off 36) and Shubhman Gill (101 off 129) and later the finishing by KL Rahul (41 off 47).

b. Dominating Pakistan

The second victory against Pakistan came with ease; India registered a comfortable six-wicket win in this match. Virat Kohli once again showed why he is the deadliest batsman against Pakistan by scoring a 100 runs not out innings in just 107 balls.

c. Tough Battle Against New Zealand

The final group stage battle was a tough one as the opponent was New Zealand, who were also coming to this match after winning their previous two games. New Zealand restricted India to a small total of 249, but during the chase, Indian spinners showed their dominance and ate the Kiwi batsmen out at just a total of 205 runs. Varun Chakaravarthy took a five-wicket haul in this match to demolish New Zealand. This win greatly enhanced the confidence of team India in their bowling.

Semi-Final Triumph Against Australia

After this came the aggressive Australian side in the semi-final match. Australia managed to get a decent total of 278 against India. India found themselves in trouble while chasing, but once again, the greatest chase master of all time, Virat Kohli, showed his class by scoring a crucial 84 run inning in tough times for India. Not only in the final match but in each win, India proved why they deserve the title of Champions in this tournament.

Read also:- Champions Trophy 2025 Final: Match Officials Announced!

Key Performers and Award Winners

India won the Champions trophy this year, but many stars from other teams also shone brightly during the tournament. We feel that their contribution to their respective teams are worth mentioning. But first of all, we would like to start with our hero, Rohit Sharma. He made a match-winning knock in the final of 76 runs, and honestly, without it, winning the title looks so distant. Rohit Sharma was selected for the ‘Player of the Match’ award for this valuable contribution to his team.

The New Zealand side might not have on, but has shown some tremendous cricket throughout the tournament. Rachin Ravindra, their opening batsman, stole the show throughout the tournament with his valuable contributions to the team. He is the leading run scorer in the tournament with 223 in just four innings that he played. Apart from this, he also contributed three crucial wickets for the team at difficult times. He is really a well-deserved candidate for the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award. Another New Zealand cricketer, Matt Henry, on the other hand, took the most wickets throughout the tournament, that too without playing the final game due to an unfortunate injury in the semi-finals. He took a total of ten wickets in just four matches.

The prize money for the winners of the Champions trophy was INR 19.45 crore, which Team India took home, and for the runners-up, the reward was INR 9.72 crore, which went into New Zealand’s account.

Award	Winner	Prize Money / Stats
Champions	India (3rd title)	INR 19.45 Cr (US$ 2.24 M)
Runners-up	New Zealand	INR 9.72 Cr (US$ 1.12 M)
Player of the Final	Rohit Sharma	76 runs off 83 balls
Most Runs in the Tournament	Rachin Ravindra (NZ)	263 runs in 4 innings
Most Wickets in the Tournament	Matt Henry (NZ)	10 wickets in 4 innings
Player of the Tournament	Rachin Ravindra (NZ)	263 runs, 3 wickets

Statistical Highlights of the Tournament

Highest Team Total: India – 329/6 vs Pakistan
Lowest Team Total: Bangladesh – 122 all-out vs Australia
Most Sixes in the Tournament: Rohit Sharma (14 sixes)
Best Bowling Figures: Kuldeep Yadav – 5/37 vs Bangladesh

Steve Smith Bids Farewell

Sadly, this tournament also ended an era of Australian legend Steve Smith. He announced his retirement from ODI’s after the semi-final loss of Australia against India. No doubt, he is one of the greatest players in modern-day cricket. He has helped his country in hundreds of difficult situations with his batting and sharp mind.

Steve Smith’s ODI Career:

Span	Mat	Inns	Not Outs	Runs	Highest Score	Avg	Ball Faced	SR	100s	50s	0s	4s	6s
2010-2025	170	154	20	5800	164	43.28	6669	86.96	12	35	8	521	58