India survived a New Zealand fightback to win the
Champions Trophy with a four-wicket victory in Dubai.
India, dominant throughout the tournament, made a rampant
start in pursuit of 252 only to lose three wickets for 17 runs, including
captain Rohit Sharma for 76 and Virat Kohli for one.
Shreyas Iyer followed for 48 and Axar Patel holed out on 29
to leave 49 runs to get from 51 balls.
Hardik Pandya took India closer and, after he fell for 18,
KL Rahul finished 34 not out as Ravindra Jadeja hit the winning runs with an
over to spare.
That India always still felt ahead of the game was thanks to
their spinners once again impressing by limiting New Zealand to 251-7.
Victory confirms India's place as the world's premier
white-ball side.
Since being beaten in the final of the 2023 World Cup they
have won the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy - a record third time they
have won this event but first since 2013.
They were loudly supported by a partisan crowd in Dubai,
fireworks erupting into the night sky as the players rushed onto the field at
the final moment, but disappointment remained that this final was not played in
Lahore, which would have been the case had India not refused to travel to
Pakistan.
India on top of the white-ball world
This tournament has flickered without ever catching light -
much of the action overshadowed by the debate over the advantages India have
had in playing all of their matches in Dubai.
In the end it got a tense finale - at least a finish closer
than looked likely for much of the match.
First India's spinners restricted and then Rohit charged.
India looked on course for a thumping win when Rohit was
flogging the New Zealand seamers, with the tournament's leading wicket-taker
Matt Henry absent with a shoulder injury.
Ultimately, India had to work, as hard as at any point in
their unbeaten progression through this tournament, but their depth and quality
is such that they were always favourites amid passionate support.
They were also freed by the T20 win last year, which ended
their 13-year wait for a world title.
While it does not go all of the way to banishing the pain of
the defeat in the final at home in 2023, it provides more silverware for the
likes of Rohit and Kohli, who may not have continued in the format had they
beaten Australia in Ahmedabad.
With the next men's T20 World Cup co-hosted by India in 2026
and a new generation of Indians eagerly awaiting, the question for the rest of
the world is: how do they possibly overhaul India?
A chase always under control
As has been the case throughout in Dubai, spin was far
harder to face than pace.
Chasing a below-par score, Rohit pulled the second ball of
the innings for six and dominated a stand of 105 with fellow opener Shubman
Gill.
New Zealand's fightback was sparked by a stunning one-handed
catch by Glenn Phillips - his third such grab of the tournament - at extra
cover to dismiss Gill for 31.
Kohli, usually the master of these chases, went lbw to
off-spinner Michael Bracewell and Rohit was stumped when advancing to left-arm
spinner Rachin Ravindra.
The partnership of 61 between Axar and Iyer was important in
steadying India, although both fell trying to accelerate. Iyer, having already
been dropped, flicked to short fine leg and Axar tamely punted to long-on to
give Santner and Bracewell a further wicket each.
However, the required run-rate was always under control. It
only ever nudged slightly above a run per ball as Rahul remained calm, before
Hardik pumped a towering straight six with the winning line in sight.
It was fitting that it was Jadeja, another veteran of this
era of Indian white-ball cricket, who flicked the winning runs off his hip. New
Zealand fought admirably, but this is their fourth defeat in the final of a
white-ball event since 2015.
Spin to win
New Zealand started well after opting to bat, reaching 57-0
in the eighth over, but the introduction of spin again brought greater threat.
In Varun Chakravarthy's second over, Ravindra overturned a
caught behind decision and was dropped at deep square-leg before Will Young was
pinned lbw for 15.
Kuldeep Yadav then bowled Ravindra with his first delivery
for 37 and forced Kane Williamson to chip back for 11, leaving New Zealand
75-3, from which point the scoring stalled.
There were two separate spells of 10 overs without a
boundary and only four boundaries came in the middle-over period - the least by
any team in the tournament so far - as India's spinners targeted the stumps and
the batters struggled to get the ball away.
The first five wickets all fell to spin, with Tom Latham
missing a sweep to be lbw to Jadeja and Chakravarthy bowling Phillips for 34
amid the struggle.
Daryl Mitchell dug in for a 63 from 101 balls but his knock
was always laboured. Bracewell struck three fours and two sixes in hitting 53
off 40 balls late on, but the Black Caps' total never felt enough.
'Youngsters taking Indian cricket forward' - reaction
India batter Virat Kohli: "It's an amazing
feeling, lovely to be playing with such amazing youngsters. So much talent in
the dressing room and they're taking Indian cricket forward in the right
direction.
"These guys are stepping up in a massive way and that's
why we're such a strong team."
India captain Rohit Sharma: "We've played
some really good cricket throughout the tournament. To come out here and win it
is great.
"The crowd has been magnificent. It's not our home
ground but they've made it our home ground."
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner: "It's
been a good tournament. We faced some challenges along the way but we've grown
as a group. We played some good cricket but we fell short to a better team.
"Credit to how they played, they're world class spin
bowlers. We were probably about 20 runs under what we wanted but we just went
out looking to restrict them."
