The Indian side registered a nail-biting four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final in 2025. Chasing 252 against the Blackcaps, India pursued the score in 49 overs on Sunday at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Batting first, New Zealand was held back to 251/7, with Indian spinners delivering a clinical performance in the final showdown.

Beginning of the Final Showdown: First Inning Play

• At the start of the first 6 overs of the first inning, New Zealand openers hit 50+ runs against Indian fast bowlers, but when Varun Chakaravarthy came into action, they received the wicket of Will Young, who was out on 15 (23). Subsequently, Kuldeep Yadav was introduced into play from the opposite end, and during the normal interval, he dismissed Rachin Ravindra 37 (29), and Kane Williamson 11 (14).

• During the middle overs of the first innings, on one side Daryl Mitchell (63 off 101) and Michael Bracewell (53 off 40) were hitting the ball out of the park and were at ease in reading the spinners aptly, and on the other side, Tom Latham was not comfortable reading the spinners aptly and was dismissed at a score of 14 (30) by Ravindra Jadeja.
• The last 10 overs of the first inning was where New Zealand scored 79 runs, whereby there was a lot of contribution for Glenn Phillips with 34 runs for 52 and Michael Bracewell with power-hitting 53 runs for 40 runs, which sums up the total for New Zealand to 251/7.

Second Phase of the Final Showdown: Second Inning Play

• · In the start of the second inning’s first 10 overs, the Indian team had an upper hand, as the two openers were batting in such a manner that they set from the dressing room that they would demolish the entire bowling attack. On one hand, Rohit Sharma was thrashing the New Zealand bowlers as if they were gully bowlers for him, and on the other hand, Shubman Gill was playing cautiously and supporting his opening partner. And created a centurion-opening association in which-
• Rohit Sharma: 76(83)
• Shubhman Gill: 31 (50)

• · During the mid-over of the second inning, there is a list of wickets fallen where, following the departure of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli departed in quick succession on a total of 1(2) against the spinners of New Zealand. The pitch became tougher to bat on as the spinners from New Zealand began dominating because the ball was turning significantly on the track. That made it tough for the batsman to understand it correctly. But the Indian team’s solid middle order tackles these spinners appropriately and preserves the wickets until the phase of danger is over. Both Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer rescue the chase by playing responsibly to be in the chase.

• · During the final phase of the inning, there was the run-a-ball scenario where the run rate of the inning had to be picked up to pursue the score; both Shreyas Iyer (48 off 62) and Axar Patel (29 off 40) began playing the ball properly out of the ground but got out playing the ball, and the subsequent chase was then spearheaded by KL Rahul (34 off 33) and Hardik Pandya (18 off 18), scoring at a strike rate of about 100 and taking the chase till the end but getting out on playing the short ball. At the last, Ravindra Jadeja (9 off 6) arrived and finished the chase by scoring a four.

• · And that was the moment of victory for the Indian team; all the practice and hard work of the players paid off. It was a moment of emotion for Indian players and Indian supporters as, after waiting for 12 long years, India emerged as the Champions of the Champions Trophy 2025. The happiness of this victory was felt all across India; everyone is enjoying this winning moment as a festival for Indians worldwide.