India beat New Zealand in a tense encounter by four wickets to claim the Champions Trophy title for the third time at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Rohit Sharma (76) and Shubman Gill (31) shared a punishing opening stand worth 105-runs with the India skipper putting on a rapid 41-ball fifty, to help India post 254-6, replying to New Zealand’s 251-7.
A superb leaping catch from Glenn Phillips at short cover dismissed Gill and four balls later Michael Bracewell (2-28) had Virat Kohli (1) trapped lbw to silence the rampant crowd, but with India needing two runs from seven balls, Ravindra Jadeja (9no) hit a boundary to seal the deal.
Earlier, New Zealand elected to bat with Rachin Ravindra (37) and Will Young (15) sharing a blistering 57-run stand but India’s spinners ran riot removing both openers and Kane Williamson (11) in six overs.
Kuldeep Yadav (2-40) and Varun Chakravarthy (2-45) were the pick of the bowlers with two apiece, but it was Mohammed Shami (1-74) who dismissed New Zealand’s top run-scorer Daryl Mitchell (63) – who hit slowest fifty of both his ODI career and the tournament.
Despite India’s consistent wickets, Bracewell’s 53 not out at the death was essential in helping New Zealand post a competitive score on a good batting track, but in the end it was not enough.
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After building a steady platform for India, Rohit looked to accelerate against Ravindra but it ended in him being stumped by Tom Latham, leaving India 122-3.
Shreyas Iyer (48) steadied proceedings with a 61-run stand alongside Axar Patel (29) but was caught by Ravindra off Mitchell Santner, reprieving Kyle Jamieson for his drop at long-on moments earlier.
Axar gifted away his wicket after lobbing Bracewell straight to O’Rourke at long-off, giving New Zealand some hope.
Glenn Phillips takes a sensational one-handed catch to remove a dangerous Shubman Gill
There was a further twist in the tale when Hardik Pandya (18) was caught and bowled off Jamieson in the 48th over leaving India 241-6.
However, the in-form KL Rahul (34no) and Jadeja held their nerve and shared an unbeaten 13-run at the death to push India all the way.
India now have 23 wins from 24 matches in the last three ICC tournaments, with the only loss coming in the 50-over final in 2023 when they lost to Australia.
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Varun Chakravarthy (2-45) was the first to strike for India, trapping Young lbw inside the powerplay with a pinpoint delivery hitting low on the pad.
Kuldeep then took two quick wickets to wrestle back some momentum, first bowling Ravindra with a googly with his opening ball and then taking a simple catch at chest height in his follow-through to dismiss Williamson, leaving New Zealand on 75-3.
Tom Latham (14) and Mitchell helped take their side past 100 with careful batting but were unable to find an answer against India’s lethal spinners who continued to tighten their hold.
This time it was Jadeja (1-30) who trapped Latham leg-before with a New Zealand review also confirming the wicket.
Daryl Mitchell missed a huge opportunity to remove Shubman Gill on six after dropping an important one-handed catch
Mitchell and Glenn Phillips (34) put on a 57-run stand for the fifth wicket, helped by a series of dropped catches by Sharma, Iyer and Gill, which allowed Phillips to post a half-century – the slowest New Zealand fifty in 11 years.
New Zealand went 81 balls without a boundary during the middle phase of their innings and eventually Varun made another breakthrough, ripping through Phillips’ defences with a googly, with India’s spinners taking 5-144 between them.
New Zealand’s skipper Santner was run out by Kohli trying to pinch a second run to keep Bracewell on strike for the final over.
Bracewell played brilliantly at the death, hitting a 39-ball fifty containing three boundaries and two sixes to help New Zealand post a competitive score.
