Champions Trophy Final 2025 Story Board: Of Cool-Deep Yadav making a difference, Rachin Run-vindra off to a start and more

– Tushar Bhaduri

India captain Rohit Sharma and teammates celebrate with the winners trophy on the podium after defeating New Zealand in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. (AP Photo)

Tide-changer

After a whirlwind start that made the chase seem almost like a cakewalk, three quick wickets and a succession of tight overs had brought the final on more of an even keel. The four-pronged Kiwi spin attack was threatening to do an India on India, as the asking rate reached almost a run a ball. Something needed to be done to change the tempo of the game, and Shreyas Iyer took the mantle upon himself. With off-spinner Glenn Phillips turning the ball into him, he went for a hoick over mid-wicket. At most grounds it would have been a sure six, but the bigger Dubai field kept the boundary fielder, Will Young interested. He got his hand to the ball as he was toppling over the fence. He chucked the ball inside, but not before his feet touched the skirting. What could have been a wicket became a six, and the tide turned. Iyer and Axar Patel got entrenched, got their regular singles and the required boundaries. Another catch dropped off Iyer, a much easier one by Kyle Jamieson signalled the tilt in the balance of power in the game as the largely India supporters in the crowd found their voice again.

No surprise then that when Rachin Ravindran finally held onto a Shreyas catch for 48, a few sweet nothings escaped his indecipherable lips.

– Tushar Bhaduri

Change in mood

The way the Indian chase started, it seemed as the result was a foregone conclusion. The flurry of early boundaries, mostly from Rohit Sharma’s bat, prompted frenzy and excitement in the stands. It appeared to be a question of how quickly, and not if, India would get to the target. There was speculation over whether the skipper would get to a hundred in the final. Even when Virat Kohli came to the middle after Shubman Gill’s dismissal, with the total already past 100, some wondered whether there was an opportunity for him to get a ton as well. But it doesn’t take much for the mood to change in a game of cricket. Three relatively quick wickets induced tension in the proceedings and the anxiety among the India supporters could be ascertained from the fact that they were now cheering singles walked by Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel, as the Kiwi spinners and fielders made them earn every run.

Tushar Bhaduri

Dot… dot… dot… and gone

Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that’ll never stop… goes the lyric of a song in Encanto. In India’s case, it went like dot, dot, dot… and more dots. In the 25th over, Rachin Ravindra conceded a single off the first ball. That was followed by five dots as Rohit struggled to put him away, one attempted sweep in that over nearly squeezed through for a LBW. It was the first sign of Rohit not being in a comfortable space. In the next over, Shreyas Iyer nearly lobbed one back to Michael Bracewell as the ball stopped on him. It was a maiden over. 11 straight dot balls. At the start of the 27th over NZ reaped the reward. Rohit danced down against Rachin and was well beaten by the length, the ball turning past him and the Indian captain was stumped. 12th straight dot, and set batter gone. That was followed by 7 more dots… and nearly another wicket as Shreyas Iyer tried to break the shackles. He was nearly caught at deep midwicket, but it ended up being a six despite Will Young’s super effort.

– Vinayakk Mohanarangan

His Airness, neo No 23 or Jonty sequel of 2025?

A chase that was placed well and going at brisk pace was halted and it was halted by a flying beauty from none other than the superman Glenn Phillips.

As Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill moved along swiftly in the chase against New Zealand, they needed something special and Glenn Phillips did exactly that. He plucked a catch out of thin air, from behind his head, to dismiss Gill off Mitchell Santner.

It was a flighted ball which was drilled towards cover by Gill but Glenn Phillips’ jump in the air and came as divine intervention. His reaction time was 0.78 seconds.

The catch was a photographer’s delight, an acrobat’s arch as Phillips was like a silk ribbon caught in breeze, absolutely fluid. The 28-year-old has made it a habit now. Displaying acrobatic skills on the field, day in and day out.

Be it the catch of Rizwan in the opening game of the tournament or the catch to dismiss Virat Kohli in the group game, he glides and flows on the field much like a paintbrush painting a picture.

If Kohli’s catch was from another world, it looked like he plucked Gill’s catch from another realm.

His celebration was pretty down-to-earth though: crossing his hands and feet, while still sitting on the ground, and a happy smile pasted on his face. Not smug. Just content.

– Pritish Raj

Gill dances down

It is not often you see Shubman Gill bat out the entire first powerplay and not score a boundary. With the Rohit Sharma Show well and truly on in Dubai, Gill could afford to take his time, the best seat in the house being the non-striker’s end. At the end of the first 10 overs, Rohit had hit five fours and three sixes in the 40 balls he had taken strike for. Gill on the other hand was on 10 off 20 balls. But when Gill decided to take charge, the wait was worth it, because it was arguably the cleanest strike of the day. He saw one flighted by Rachin Ravindra, decided to give the charge, and despite New Zealand having a fielder at long on in place, cleared the fence with effortless ease. The first of many straight, sweetly-timed sixes with the new MRF bat – one that has a special place in Indian cricket – that he started playing with from the semifinals, one imagines.

– Vinayakk Mohanarangan

Rohit ‘Hitman’ Sharma takes the bounty on NZ bowlers

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has embraced a style of playing with attacking intent irrespective of the situation.
Staying true to his moniker ‘Hitman’, Rohit came all guns blazing in the chase with a six on the second ball as he pulled Kyle Jamieson to the backward of square leg. He continued with the blitzkrieg as he hit two fours to William O’Rourke in the next over.

Rohit took a liking for Nathan Smith, replacement of Matt Henry, scoring two sixes and two fours against him in the powerplay.
The first six against Smith in the 6th over when Rohit charged down, flew 92m, his immaculate ability of hitting sixes on display.

India’s captain Rohit Sharma poses with the winners trophy after defeating New Zealand in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. (AP Photo)

Charging down to the pacers has been one of the regular weapons in Rohit’s arsenal of attacking cricket. Since January 2022, Rohit has scored 119 runs charging down the track to the pacers in just 39 balls with a gigantic strike rate of 305. While attempting the shot, he has got out just thrice showing the perfect execution from him. India scored 64/0 in the ten overs of the first powerplay. Sharma reached his 50 in just 41 balls just after the powerplay ended.

– Pritish Raj

Bracewell goes well

At one point, after five wickets fell, India looked well and truly on top in the final against New Zealand. And then there was a recovery. That was the story in 2000 in Nairobi. Twenty five years back, it was Chris Cairns who scored an unbeaten century to break Indian hearts in the ICC Knock Out, as it was called back then. It wasn’t quite that sort of innings but Michael Bracewell is cut from the same cloth as generations of New Zealand cricketers who are equally effective with the bat and ball. Coming in at No 7, the spin-bowling-hard-hitting utility cricketer scored a smart 53 off 40 balls, to revive New Zealand’s batting effort that was heading nowhere for a large part of the afternoon in Dubai. Only Bracewell – and to a lesser extent Glenn Phillips – were able to break the shackles that were firmly in place after the early onslaught from Rachin Ravindra. Bracewell’s two sixes were especially sweetly timed, clearing the boundary comfortably, as he took a heavy toll on the last few overs of pace from India’s seamers. Thanks to him, 79/2 in the last 10 overs pushed New Zealand past the 250-mark. Fighters, aren’t they?

– Vinayakk Mohanarangan

Sweep, reverse or otherwise, fails Latham

Tom Latham’s reputation as a solid middle-over batter was built on his ability to play spin, especially use the sweep and reverse sweep to great effect. But in back-to-back matches, he found the going tough against Ravindra Jadeja, a notoriously hard bowler to sweep because of his metronomic accuracy. In the league-stage match last week, Latham attempted the reverse sweep against the left-arm spinner, and cramped himself for room, missed the turning ball and was out LBW. Fast forward to the final, the batter opted for the conventional sweep, missed one that slid on straight, and was again trapped plumb in front. Jadeja knew immediately he had his man, and brought out his version of the ‘celebrappeal’ and umpire Paul Reiffel – who had correctly ruled out another LBW appeal in the previous Jadeja over against Latham – agreed. The former Australian pacer is nicknamed ‘Pistol’ and wasted no time in raising his hand. The review didn’t save Latham. “Latham generally plays that shot well, but in Dubai it’s been tough going for him,” Dinesh Karthik said on air. India’s spin-choke continued.

– Vinayakk Mohanarangan

All hugs for Kuldeep

A video did the rounds on social media during India vs Australia semifinal. Virat Kohli charged in from the deep to pick up a ball and fire in a throw to the non-striker’s end where Kuldeep Yadav was standing. As the ball got closer to him, Kuldeep took a step back and let it go, presumably because he wanted to protect his bowling hand. The ball then made its way to Rohit Sharma who was backing up on the other side of the wicket. The current Indian captain and former Indian captain were both left unhappy at Kuldeep’s decision and were caught on broadcast giving the spinner an earful, you didn’t have to be an expert lip-reader to understand the scolding. On Sunday in the final, it was all hugs and cheers for Kuldeep though. He hasn’t had the best of tournaments so far, but in his first two overs in the big clash, he removed the big wickets of Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson. And was promptly mobbed by his teammates on both occasions, plenty of affection in the air.

– Vinayakk Mohanarangan

Cool-deep is the coolest of Indian wristies

Young Rachin Ravindra was on a roll against India in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He took Hardik Pandya to the cleaners in the fourth over with one six and two fours. In the next over, he struck two fours against Shami.

Highest run scorer of the tournament, Rachin has been in supreme form with centuries in the group stage and in the semi-final. Him scoring runs meant that captain Rohit Sharma had a lot to worry. After his boundary spree, Rachin got two reprieves as Shami dropped his catch on follow through and Shreyas Iyer dropped a skier off Varun Chakaravarthy’s bowling.

Usually brought late into the attack, skipper Rohit Sharma brought in Kuldeep Yadav ahead of Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja. Enduring a tough tournament performance wise, Kuldeep made all the difference on the first ball as Rachin failed to read the googly and missed it as it flicked off his back leg before crashing on the stumps. The Indian team was ecstatic knowing the value of the wicket. Kuldeep didn’t stop there as he got the wicket of Kane Williamson in the next over. Williamson had scored a half century in the last match against India but got out for a meagre 11 this time as Kuldeep invited him to drive with a full ball on the middle and the Kiwi batter pushed it back to Kuldeep who made no mistake in taking the catch.

– Pritish Raj

Varun’s deception of speed – from mid-80s to 99

Varun Chakaravarthy is not only about cryptic variations, but also about well-disguised change of pace and smart manoeuvring of the crease. The Will Young delivery—a non-turning leg-break—was all about his angle. He delivered it from a little away from the stumps, not quite from the edge of the crease, but at an arm’s length from the umpire. The angle deceived Young, who was already fretting about his variations, unable to read him off his wrists but reacting to deviations from the surface. So the moment he read the line was towards the stumps, he thrust his front foot, semi-forward and tried to work him across the stumps. The basic set-up meant that he would end up playing around the front-pad, which he did. Then kicked in Varun’s deception of speed. This one clocked 99kph, whereas most deliveries to him were in the mid 80s. The ball snuck past the bat and skidded straight onto the front pad. Usually, Young is an assured player of spin on his back-foot. But he had slashed a Varun ball onto the stumps in the previous game. So perhaps, his half-forward press this time.

– Sandip G

Virat’s fielding suggestion to Rohit

Virat Kohli shouted out, ‘Rohit Rohit’ just as the new batsman Daryl Mitchell walked past him to take guard, after the fall of Rachin Ravindra. Kohli then cupped his palms together to suggest a close-in catcher. Rohit must have been unmoved for Kohli once again gestured, this time after the iffy forward prods of a batsman. No luck, for now as the captain didn’t agree and Kohli went back to his spot. In the last over, he had signalled to Rohit to swap positions; Kohli was at midwicket and after Kane Williamson had tapped one past square-leg, he wanted to field there, and asked Rohit to come over. That time the captain had agreed.

– Sriram Veera

Pain for Shami and India

Rachin Ravindra was perhaps the big wicket India needed early in Dubai but the left-handed opener was off to a stylish start. But India offered their helping hands. In the 7th over, Rachin punched one straight back to Mohammed Shami who put both his hands up but the ball flicked his left little finger, causing him to flinch in pain. The pacer had dropped two chances in the semifinal against Australia too off his own bowling, including one off Travis Head in the first over. “One to his right, one to his left and now one through the middle,” former England captain Nasser Hussain described it on air as footage of the three dropped catches was played. It brought India’s catching efficiency in the tournament down to 72%. That would have gone down further as Shreyas Iyer dropped one at deep midwicket when Rachin mistimed a slog sweep in the next over. Having made good ground to his right, Shreyas misjudged the flight of the ball and found himself stretching for the final step, got both hands to it but couldn’t hold on. For the record, New Zealand sat pretty at the top with a 91% catching efficiency.

– Vinayakk Mohanarangan

Rachin run-ka-ching starts ringing

New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra celebrates after scoring century during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Bangladesh and New Zealand, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AP)

Rachin Ravindra with 226 had the second-most number of runs in this ICC Champions Trophy coming into the final against India. In three balls against Hardik Pandya, he showed exactly what his ODI rise has been all about. The first came from a back of the length ball that Pandya directed towards him, one that he calmly stood and pulled away at. At 134 clicks, Pandya gave him the time to stand, deliver and look downright regal while doing all of it. Five centuries in ICC tournaments and an average of 67 across World Cup and CT matches (804 runs in 13 innings), is exactly the reason why New Zealand place so much faith in him. The next ball was dispatched to the boundary as well, this time a square drive that he attacked on the move. Pandya responded with a wide and then saw his last ball of the over pulled at again. The Kiwi southpaw didn’t get the same power from bat onto ball as he had earlier in the over but the ball bounced once before heading out of the boundary ropes. The customary camera pan to a worried Rohit Sharma ensued – one of many this innings possibly?

– Shashank Nair