After a painful wait of twelve years, India ended its ODI title drought with its triumph at the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai. As the team donned its White champion jackets, the champagne must have tasted extra special, coming after the agonising heartbreak of the loss to Australia at the 2023 ODI Finals at home. The wounds of that night at the Narendra Modi Stadium are healing, and those demons were buried in the warm desert sands of Dubai. India is in love with ODI cricket once again. India Champions Trophy 2025
The Indian team won the night on Sunday through a delicious mixture of youth and experience. Batting first, New Zealand were brilliant in parts but did not control the game long enough to spoil India’s party. The sub-par score of 251-7 had Daryl Mitchell top scoring at 63. Mohammed Shami ensured Mitchell did not repeat his 2023 World Cup heroics against India, when he almost took the semi-finals away with a scintillating century. Michael Bracewell (53*) accelerated the scoring in the last 5 overs to ensure his team crossed the 250-run mark.
Spinners Kuldeep Yadav (2/40) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/45) were the standout bowlers for India, serving a masterful blend of flight and deception to control the scoring and picking wickets at critical moments in the game. The old Gods of spin would have been pleased at the artistry displayed by the duo. Ravindra Jadeja too proved his worth with an astounding 3.00 run rate in his 10-over spell and snaring Tom Latham plumb in front of the wickets.
India’s reply started strongly with an old-school pull for a six by Rohit Sharma (76) on the very second ball. It was a classic, unhurried Sharma innings peppered with 3 sixers and 7 fours, resembling a seasoned emperor cruising to the end of his reign, well aware of the legacy he’s setting. Shubman Gill (31) and Sharma put together a 105-run stand for the opening wicket, effectively shutting the door on a New Zealand victory. Indian cricket fans of little faith would have experienced a familiar sinking feeling when the team lost Gill, Virat Kohli and Sharma’s wickets for 17 runs mid innings. They needn’t have worried though, as the talented middle order ensured a fairly smooth march to victory after that. In fact, India’s win probability on various cricket websites never dipped below 60% after the first over. India Champions Trophy 2025
The Controversy
The tournament had its share of controversy about India’s “single ground” advantage. New Zealand travelled 7,048 kilometres throughout the tournament, more than twice as much as any other team and played 5 matches at 4 different venues. In contrast, India played all its games at Dubai and in front of mostly Indian crowds after the Modi Government refused to send its team to the official host nation Pakistan. The luxury of not having to pack their bags every few days and playing at the same ground, arguably gave the team an advantage, especially to the spin bowlers.
Total Travel By Team in 2025 Champions Trophy
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In 2011, former Captain and Coach Rahul Dravid commended BCCI for leveraging its financial and political influence to provide the team with advantageous conditions after decades of condescension. BCCI is way more powerful now than in 2011, to the point of shifting the tournament’s centre of gravity to Dubai, overshadowing Pakistan’s role as the host nation.
Twilight zone for the greats
As the Indian fans celebrated victory, questions remain about the future of three of its ageing greats – Sharma (37y), Kohli (36y) and Jadeja (36y) – who dominated the team’s ODI cricket history in the past decade and a half. Sharma has been one of the most destructive openers in ODI history with his record-breaking three double centuries. Kohli is the most dominant batter of his generation, with 50 centuries to his name and 13,000+ ODI runs. Jadeja’s heroics often get shadowed by the mind-blowing numbers of the top order batters, but celebrated no less by the Indian fans. His all-round brilliance has ensured balance and depth in the team over the years. Time marches on, however, and the selectors have to assemble a team for the future. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Verma and Ruturaj Gaikwad need to be given adequate experience on the green to carry the team forward. Gill looks eager to step out from his role as an understudy for leadership in all formats. Verma, above all, is more than ready for the grand stage. While the torches of triumph are still ablaze and the greats stand victorious in the twilight of their careers, they will be aware of the need to renew the cycle and pass on the mantle. As the cliché goes, timing is everything in cricket.
This win is a moment of collective relief for Indian fans and a chance to celebrate the return to ODI dominance. After the IPL and T20 took over, the country began falling out of love with the ODI format. This victory in Dubai has rekindled its love and restored its faith in the team. Tales of this victory will be told with pride for years to come in India’s grandest theatre of cricket. Sunil Gavaskar (below) knows this too well.
𝘿𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙤𝙝 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙘𝙝𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙞 𝙟𝙞 😍
Just a glimpse of Sunil Gavaskar’s passion and love for Indian cricket! ❤#ChampionsTrophyOnJioStar #INDvNZ #ChampionsTrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/0ZJMHjVTIZ
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 9, 2025
India Champions Trophy 2025
