Today's Edition
Kuumar Shyam (Dubai)
India beat New Zealand by four wickets in a tense final to clinch the ICC Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
In chasing down 251-7, India ended a 13-year global title drought when they won the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies last year under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. They now have two in two.
Given the poor relations with tournament hosts Pakistan, India played their matches at the neutral venue in the UAE, which has become a controversial “home” fortress for the newly crowned champions and their fans in blue who packed the stadium as they have done throughout the tournament.
India did make life difficult for themselves by shipping 20-30 runs too many when New Zealand opted to bat first. Daryl Mitchell made 63 and Michael Bracewell contributed an unbeaten 53 down the order to help the Black Caps post a competitive total.
India's four-pronged spin attack managed to keep the run rate in check but they were not helped by their field, who dropped four catches.
In reply, Sharma played a captain’s knock of 76 runs from 83 balls to lay the foundation for the rest of his teammates to build on. A start of 105 before the first wicket compensated for the flop show of Virat Kohli, who came and went for one run. (lbw to Michael Bracewell).
After a mini-collapse in which 3 wickets tumbled for just 17 runs, Shubman Gill (31), Shreyas Iyer (48) and Axar Patel (29) made sure India remained on track for their target. Ironically, it was KL Rahul, criticised for his slow strike rate, who got India home with a 33-ball unbeaten knock of 34 (254-6 with an over to spare).
"It is very nice," Sharma said. "We played some good cricket though the tournament. To have the result our way is a great feeling."
Hinting that this could be one of his last tournaments, Kohli added: "It's been amazing, we wanted to bounce back after a tough Australia tour. Lovely playing with a bunch of amazing youngsters. They're stepping up and taking India in the right direction.
"When you leave, you want to leave in a better position. So many impactful knocks Gill, Shreyas, Rahul have played. The team is in good hands.”
