Following India’s ICC Champions Trophy win, star India batter Virat Kohli expressed happiness at Men in Blue’s win and performances by several team members, particularly Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya and Shreyas Iyer, saying that the squad is “ready to take on the world for next eight overs”.
“I feel we have a squad that is ready to take on the world for the next 8 years,” Kohli said in the post-match ceremony.
India secured their third ICC Champions Trophy title, defeating New Zealand by four wickets in a nail-biting final at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. This victory marks India’s second successive white-ball title win.
India witnessed standout performances from several players in the final, particularly Varun Charkavarthy, skipper Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul.
Talking after the match in the post-match proceedings, Virat said, “It has been amazing, we wanted to bounce back after a tough Australian tour (Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25), and wanted to win a big tournament, so to win the Champions Trophy is amazing.”
“So much talent in the dressing room, they are trying to take their game further, and we are just happy to be of help (role of the seniors), sharing our experience, and that is what makes this Indian team so strong. These are the things you want to play (for titles), playing under pressure and putting your hand up. The whole team, everyone has put their hands up sometimes or other (during the course of the tournament), everyone has put up impactful performances, we have been part of an amazing team, the amount of work we have done in the practice sessions, it feels great (to win). When you leave, you want to leave the team in a better place.”
Virat hailed Shubman and Shreyas for their top knocks in the competition, KL for adjusting to the role of finisher, and Hardik for also chipping in with the bat.
“Shubman has been outstanding, Shreyas has played some top knocks, KL has finished games, and Hardik has been superb with the bat,” he said.
Speaking about the New Zealand team, Virat said that he felt sad that his good friend Kane Williamson, the premier Kiwi batter, had to end up on the losing side.
“We have always been in awe with what they can do, the limited number of players in the talent pool, but they just execute plans so well, they keep playing the kind of cricket that keeps them very much in the game. They have always been attacking and supportive of the bowlers. Credit to them; they are easily the best fielding unit. Sad to see a very good friend of mine on the losing side (on Kane Wiliamson), but they are always so good, and they keep doing the basics well. That’s what makes them such a competitive unit,” he concluded.
New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first.
Kiwis got off to a fine start with a 57-run stand between Will Young (15) and Rachin Ravindra (37 in 29 balls, with four boundaries and a six). However, Kuldeep Yadav (2/40) applied some breaks and reduced NZ to 75/3.
A 57-run stand between Daryl Mitchell (63 in 101 balls, with three fours) and Michael Bracewell pushed Kiwis towards 150-plus runs. Bracewell played a fine hand of 53* in 40 balls, with three fours and two sixes, taking NZ to 251/7 in their 50 overs.
Kuldeep (2/40) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/45) were the top wicket-takers for India. Mohammed Shami also took a wicket but conceded 74 runs in his nine overs.
During the run-chase, India had a fine 105-run stand to start off things, between skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill (31 in 50 balls, with a six). While Gill, Virat and eventually Rohit (76 in 83 balls, with seven fours and three sixes) lost their wickets quickly, leaving India at 122/3, Shreyas Iyer (48 in 62 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Axar Patel (29 in 40 balls, with a four and six) stitched a 61-run stand. After India lost Axar following the crossing of the 200-run mark, KL Rahul (34* in 33 balls, with a four and a six) and Hardik Pandya (18) did their job of taking India to the finishing line with six wickets and an over left.
Michael Bracewell (2/28) and Mitchell Santner (2/46) were the top wicket-takers for NZ. (ANI)
