India vs New Zealand: Team India under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy created history by claiming their third championship title in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS).

On Sunday (March 09), the men-in-blue secured a thrilling 4-wicket win with an over to spare against New Zealand riding on the captain Rohit Sharma’s blistering half-century supported by the valuable knocks of Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, and Axar Patel.

Having emerged as the joint winners in 2002 along with Sri Lanka and the sole winners in the 2013 edition under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, India had a grueling task to chase the 252-run target to win the trophy after 12 years.

Before finding out the details about the award winners and prize money allocated to the participating teams, let’s look at the main talking points from the Champions Trophy 2025 finals. Also, it would be intriguing to know how Rohit and the middle-order batters made an effective contribution in a challenging run chase to achieve their 7th ICC title.

Rohit Sharma Lost the Toss for 12th Consecutive Time

Once again Rohit Sharma’s hard luck with the toss continues as he lost the toss for the 12th consecutive time in ODIs. He leveled the unwanted record of the former West Indies captain Brian Lara for losing the toss in successive games of the 50-over format. As a result, the New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner opted to bat first on an extremely dry and cracked pitch in Dubai.

Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell’s Fifties Guide New Zealand to a 250-Plus Total

After a quick fall of New Zealand’s top three batters, Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell showed their resilience against the Indian spin bowling attack.

The opening batter Rachin Ravindra provided a fierce start by scoring 37 runs out of 29 balls (including 4 fours and 1 six). After his dismissal, Daryl’s composed knock of 63 runs out of 101 balls (including 3 fours) and Bracewell’s 53 runs out of 40 balls (including 3 fours and 2 sixes) guided their team to post a total of 251/7 in 50 overs.

However, the 2-fers from the Indian spinners namely Varun Chakravarthy (2-45 in 10 overs), and Kuldeep Yadav (2-40 in 10 overs) prevented New Zealand’s total from accelerating to the next level. Also, the supportive roles of Mohammed Shami (1-74 in 9 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (1-30 in 10 overs) deserve a special mention.

Rohit Sharma’s 57th ODI fifty Gives India a Brisk Start

Rohit Sharma led the chase from the front by registering his 57th ODI half-century in just 41 balls. The 37-year-old opener not only gave a stellar start to his team but also surpassed the former Indian captain MS Dhoni’s record of scoring the most fifty-plus knocks against New Zealand in the 50-over format.

Rohit’s 8th half-century against the Kiwis compiling 76 runs from 83 balls (including 7 fours and 3 sixes) set a solid tone for India in a crucial run chase.

A Triple Blow for India in the Middle of Run Chase: Gill, Kohli and Rohit’s Dismissal

Mitchell Santner succeeded in concluding Shubman Gill’s 50-ball-31 run-knock (including a six), and the credit goes to Glenn Philips, who took a flying catch shortly after the drinks break in the 19th over.

After the Indian vice captain’s dismissal, Team India faced back-to-back blows as Rohit and Kohli failed to preserve their wickets.

Virat departed for an LBW dismissal scoring just a run out of 2 balls. While Rohit Sharma under pressure succumbed to being stumped out after stepping out of the crease as his attempt to smash the ball for a six went in vain.

New Zealand Fielders Drop Two Crucial Catches

Although the current New Zealand squad boasts highly skilled fielders, the dropped catches of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer were a game-changing moment for Team India:

● Gill Survived a Dropped Catch: A Century-Opening Partnership with Rohit 

Shubman Gill was dropped on 6 by Daryl Mitchell in the second ball of the seventh over bowled by Kyle Jamieson. As a consequence, the Indian vice-captain continued to maintain a 105-run stand with Rohit Sharma. Also, this is the third-highest opening partnership in the history of the ICC Champions Trophy final.

● Iyer Received a Lifeline: A 61-Run Stand with Axar Patel.

Shreyas Iyer tried to make the most out of the 37th over bowled by Glenn Phillips to smash the ball out of the park, but Jamieson’s dropped catch allowed the right-handed batter to maintain a 61-run partnership with Axar Patel. 

However, Mitchell Santner concluded Iyer’s innings with 48 runs out of 62 balls (including 2 fours and 2 sixes). Later, Axar couldn’t sustain against the Kiwi spinners and his mistimed shot against Michael Bracewell allowed William ORourke to take a simple catch, thereby ending his 40-ball-29-run-knock (including 1 four and 1 six) in the middle phase of the run chase.

KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya Steered India to the Winning Target

After Axar Patel’s dismissal, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya shouldered the heavy workload as Team India was required to score 51 runs out of 45 balls with 5 wickets in hand.

The duo-right-handed batters stitched a 38-run partnership that included Hardik’s 18-ball-18 runs (including 1 four and 1 six) and Rahul remaining not out scoring 34 runs out of 33 balls (including 1 four and 1 six).

Ultimately, Ravindra Jadeja (9 runs from 6 balls) struck the winning runs by smashing a four in the last ball of the 48th over bowled by Kyle Jamieson, as India finished with 254/6 in 49 overs.

Champions Trophy 2025 Award Winners and Prize Money After Final Match

Award Winners:

Prize Money:

In addition, all the eight teams that have participated in the Champions Trophy 2025 tournament are certain to receive USD 125,000 (INR 1.08 crore) and each team that won a group stage match would get USD 34,000 (INR 30 lakh).