The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final saw India take on New Zealand. Both sides locked horns at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on March 9, and the game saw New Zealand coming in to bat first. The Black Caps opened their innings with Rachin Ravindra and Will Young coming out to bat.
Both batters propelled the Black Caps towards a good start, building a partnership of 57 runs. Their start to the first innings set the tone for New Zealand as the side posted a total of 251 runs for the Indian team to chase down.
Furthermore, in a unique feat, as the Men in Blue came out to chase down the target, it was India skipper Rohit Sharma who propelled India to a stellar start. Both Gill and Sharma went on to build a 50+ opening stand as well, and it is interesting to note that this was only the second time both teams registered a 50-plus opening stand in an ICC ODI knockout game.
The first instance of the same came exactly 29 years ago, on March 9, 1996, in the World Cup semifinal between India and Pakistan in Bengaluru. Furthermore, this is the second instance in the Champions Trophy history as well, the first featuring New Zealand and Sri Lanka at the Wanderers, Johannesburg, in 2009.
New Zealand hoped to get off to a good start to the final. However, it was the performance of the Indian spinners that limited the Black Caps to a subpar total. Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, and Ravindra Jadeja put in brilliant performances, and limited the Black Caps to a score of 251 runs.
Aiming to chase down the target, India skipper Rohit Sharma propelled his side to a magnificent start. Taking the game to the Black Caps, Rohit’s knock has been crucial to the Men in Blue putting New Zealand under pressure right from the get go