Rohit’s Greatest Hits And Spin Quintet Win India Champions Trophy

India claimed their third Champions Trophy title with a four-wicket win over New Zealand at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. The Kiwis fought to the bitter end having posted 251, which was probably 20 or 30 runs short of a par score. India’s spin quartet of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Jadeja, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy applied the brakes while Rohit Sharma broke the back of the chase with 76 from 83 balls,

Familiarity with surroundings bred success. India have spent the last three weeks in Dubai and made the venue into a fortress. At the end of 2024, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told the ICC that the Indian team would not travel to host country Pakistan, citing long-standing security concerns.

The hybrid model of playing in the Emirates was implemented and it couldn’t have gone better for the best ODI side in the world. There will be calls of foul play and favoritism in ceding to India’s requests, but they were the best team in the tournament. The only thing that Gautam Gambhir’s squad have looked like losing since arrival is the toss. Rohit called incorrectly for an incredible twelfth time in a row as Mitchell Santner wasted no time in batting first.

New Zealand started well as Rachin Ravindra began to find the middle with some fearsome hits off Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya. New Zealand were 46 for none off the first six overs but that’s as good as it got. Not only did the Kiwis hit the wall in terms of scoring rate, they lost three wickets in the space of four and a half overs. Ravindra’s stumps were breached by Kuldeep’s first ball and then Kane Williamson chipped up a simple return catch to the left arm wrist-spinner.

India tightened the slow death grip which has cut off the run supply across five matches against Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand (twice). Kuldeep’s 2 for 56 against the Kiwis in the group stage last weekend was the only time one of Rohit’s spinners was taken for more than 50 off their quota.

India even had the luxury of dropping four catches and leaking runs through their wayward seamers who went for 104 off a combined 12 overs. When Daryl Mitchell threatened to take Shami down with consecutive boundaries, he was dismissed by a slower ball and was livid. Mitchell’s 63 was the slowest half century for a New Zealander in eleven years. It was reminiscent of KL Rahul’s 66 off 107 when India got stuck in treacle against Australia at Ahmedabad in 2023. Michael Bracewell’s 53 in 40 balls at the back end of the innings was very much an outlier.

As Donald Trump might say, India held all the cards if not all their catches. Rohit’s cameos in the tournament were between 15 and 41, but this time he hung around for 26 overs. The opener pulled Kyle Jamieson for a maximum off the second ball and deposited Nathan Smith into the crowd for two sixes. Smith was playing in place of Matt Henry, who was ruled out after injuring himself against South Africa in the semifinal. They missed his wicket-taking ability which would have caused more tremors upfront.

Bracewell completed a great match by bowling superbly, conceding 28 and trapping Virat Kohli for a single while Ravindra was good value too in returning figures of one for 47. However, India could take their time after the opening stand of 105 between Rohit and Shubman Gill. The latter was dismissed by another leaping salmon catch by Glenn Phillips. His jocular reaction was priceless.

The fact that the match almost stretched to the 100^th over was a red herring given that the Men in Blue bat deep and always had enough at the back end to see them over the line. There was no real jeopardy for the neutral apart from Ravindra’s flying start and India slipping to 122 for 3. Last Sunday, the Black Caps hit 16 boundaries on a pitch that was harder to hit through. This time, they managed 19 to India’s 22.

The boundary ratio was similar to the classic low-scoring 2019 World Cup final when New Zealand defended 241 brilliantly to take the match to that famous super over. The drama wasn’t quite on that level though. Shreyas Iyer scored 48 in a crucial 61-run stand with Axar. Rahul used all of his experience and composure to guide them to the finish line.

Player of the match Rohit has no intentions of retiring after overseeing India’s 23^rd win in the last 24 ICC fixtures across the World Cup, the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy. This team is making up for lost time. The 50-over World Cup in November 2027 is no longer a distant dream for the 37-year-old to complete the set. Life might still begin at 40 for the Indian skipper.