India Defeats New Zealand In Champions Trophy 2025: The Indian Cricket Team has defeated New Zealand in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 to win their second major tournament in the last year. This makes India the only team to win this competition on three occasions.
The India vs New Zealand final of CT 2025 was being played in the Dubai International Stadium, and the Kiwis won the toss to bat first. New Zealand got off to a decent start, scoring 69 runs in the first 10 overs and losing only one wicket, that of Will Young.
India Defeats New Zealand In Champions Trophy 2025
But as soon as the powerplay ended, the Indian spinner rained down on the Kiwi batters, as Kuldeep Yadav bowled an in-form Rachin Ravindra on the first ball of the 11th over for 37 off 29. The inning then slowed down massively. As Kane Williamson got out cheaply for 11, New Zealand was 75/3.
Tom Latham and Daryl Mitchell then batted for about 11 overs together, putting together only 33 runs before Latham got out. Mitchell then built a slow partnership with Glenn Phillips, who got out for 34 off 52. By the time Phillips was dismissed, the score was 165/5 in the 38th over.
Daryl Mitchell ended up scoring a 50, and Michael Bracewell came in with an attacking mindset. The two allowed the Black Caps to cross the 200-run mark before Mitchell was dismissed for 63 off 101. Bracewell scored a fine half-century, making 53 runs in 40 deliveries and taking New Zealand to 251/7 at the end of their 50 overs. While this score looked low compared to how the innings began, it was still a competitive total, with the match being on a spin-friendly track and four spinners being on the New Zealand side.
In response, India got off to a red-hot start. Shubman Gill and captain Rohit Sharma built a 100-run opening partnership. While the two fell upon the Kiwi pacers, the spinners gave the batters some trouble. By the time Gill got out for 31 off 50, India had scored 105 runs and had just lost their first wicket in the 19th over. This is the point where the inning started to slow down rapidly.
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Virat Kohli, known for his performances in big matches, was dismissed for just one by Michael Bracewell. A few overs later, seeing the inning come to a screeching halt, Rohit, playing on 76, looked to slog Rachin Ravindra out of the park, only to get stumped out. At 122/3 in the 27th over, trouble started brewing for India.
From this point on, India kept up with a required run-a-ball rate, but as soon as the Men in Blue looked to be in the driving seat, they would lose a wicket. First, it looked like Shreyas Iyer would emerge as the match winner before he got out for 48 off 62. Then, when India crossed the 200-run mark, Axar Patel got out while playing an unnecessary shot.
When Axar was dismissed, KL Rahul and an incoming Hardik Pandya were left on strike with 49 runs required in 51 balls. At this point, the match was at a balance, with both sides ready to seize the opportunity. Luckily, it was India, as the two experienced batters kept on par with the required run rate, scoring singles and scoring boundaries in between.
By the time Hardik had got out, he had got 18 off 18; only 12 runs were required in 15 deliveries. It was veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who took the inning home, hitting the match-winning four as the Indian Cricket Team won the match by four wickets with six balls to spare. The team won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 trophy and lifted it adorned in white blazers.
Rohit Sharma was named the Player of the Match for his fantastic inning at the start. Other standout performers were Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy, who took two wickets each and slowed the New Zealand innings down in the middle overs.
As for India, they became the first side to win the Champions Trophy on three occasions. They won the first time in 2002, sharing the title with Sri Lanka. Then came the famous 2013 win under MS Dhoni, and this was the third time India had won this title.
Check Out: India Defeats New Zealand In Champions Trophy 2025 Final
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