12 years of waiting, countless heartbreaks in ICC knockouts and a history of struggles against New Zealand none of that mattered anymore as India won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025!
At the Dubai International Stadium, India beat New Zealand by 4 wickets and won the title again.
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New Zealand batted first and posted 251/7, a total that seemed a bit below par. Daryl Mitchell’s 63 and Michael Bracewell’s late fireworks (53*) gave them hope.
But India’s bowlers especially Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy kept things tight. However, one trend continued a catch dropped by Mohammad Shami!
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He’s a world-class pacer and he dropped another return catch, taking his total to four in this tournament! Luckily the rest of the attack didn’t let New Zealand run away with the game.
India’s chase began on a dominant note. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill put up 105 runs for the opening stand and made the target look easy.
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Rohit was set for a match winning hundred but Rachin Ravindra’s brilliance led to a sharp stumping and turned the game around.
New Zealand fought back and got rid of Gill and Virat Kohli quickly. When Shreyas Iyer got out for 48 the game was wide open again.
With 32 needed off 30 balls KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya had the task of finishing the job.
Pandya smashed a six but his dismissal kept the tension high. As the final over approached Jadeja took control.
With ice in his veins he swept Will O’Rourke for a four and sealed the win and sent the Indian fans into a frenzy!
On field the action was exciting but for fans at home it was frustrating.Many complained about poor streaming quality on JioHotstar with buffering and lag ruining key moments of the match.
But in the end nothing could overshadow this win. India finally conquered their ICC knockout demons against New Zealand and won the Champions Trophy for the third time. A historic night, a perfect ending!
