India made it back-to-back global cricket tournaments with a four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy final in Dubai.
Rohit Sharma led the chase with 76 off 83 balls, and KL Rahul’s unbeaten 34 helped India cross the finish line on 254-6 in 49 overs to win the Champions Trophy on Sunday for the third time.
Half-centuries from Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell earlier helped New Zealand, who won the toss and chose to bat first, put on 251-7 in 50 overs on a slow, two-paced Dubai wicket.
India captain Sharma provided a fiery start to India’s innings, hitting seven fours and three sixes. Hardik Pandya scored 18, putting on a crucial 38 runs off 36 balls for the sixth wicket with Rahul.
Sharma ended all speculation about his potential retirement from one-day internationals in the post-match news conference.
The 37-year-old, along with Virat Kohli, announced his retirement from T20 internationals upon winning the T20 World Cup last year. This led to rumours that something similar might happen in Dubai.
“One more thing,” Sharma said at the end of the news conference. “I’m not going to retire from this format, just to make sure that no rumours are spread moving forward.”
That appears to pave the way for the right-hander to lead India at the 2027 Cricket World Cup.
The win was India’s 23rd in 24 games across the last three men’s ICC events stretching back to 2023 – the only loss coming against Australia in the 2023 Cricket World Cup final.
Both sides have previously won this tournament. India’s prior success came in 2013, and they were runners-up to Pakistan in 2017. They shared the trophy with Sri Lanka in 2002 after a rain-affected two-day final.
New Zealand won the Champions Trophy (then the ICC Knockout Trophy) in 2000, beating India in the final in Nairobi, Kenya. It remains the only limited-overs ICC trophy in the Blackcaps’ cabinet.
All of India’s matches were played in Dubai after the Indian government refused permission for its team to visit official host Pakistan on security grounds.
Unbeaten India at the Champions Trophy
India went through the entire tournament unbeaten after wins against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand in the group phase, and then Australia in the semifinal.
New Zealand beat Pakistan in Karachi, and then Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, before making the trip to Dubai to play India.
The Blackcaps then returned to Pakistan, where they beat South Africa in the second semifinal at Lahore.
