India wins its third Champions Trophy title in Dubai on 9 March. Rohit Sharma lost the toss for the 15th consecutive time by 4 wickets. The Men in Blue lifted the Champions Trophy after 12 years. New Zealand after winning the toss opted to bat first. Rachin Ravindra, the young Kiwi opener had to depart after a promising start. Star batter Kane Williamson also could not manage to create an impact. Daryl Mitchell scored a slow yet crucial half century of 63 runs in 101 balls. Michael Bracewell’s half century led the team to a reasonable score of 251 against the Indians.
Indian Innings
Indians batting second, started strongly with a 100+ runs partnership without losing any wickets. Both the openers, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill seemed good at the crease with Rohit attacking from one end while Gill building the innings from the other. Rohit reached another explosive half century of 76 runs. Gill was dismissed with a phenomenal aerial catch from the ‘Flying Kiwi’, Glenn Phillips at short covers at 31 runs. The Chase master Virat Kohli was dismissed by Michael Bracewell on 1 run. Shreyas Iyer fell short of just 2 runs from a potential half century. Axar Patel gave a good hand with the bat under pressure when ultimately he was caught at deep mid wicket. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja led the team to victory.
Spinners’ Paradise
The Dubai pitch justified why it was known for its turn. Indian spinners Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav were great with their spell while Hardik Pandya just delivered 3 overs with the ball. Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav took 2 wickets each while Jadeja managed to put 1 wicket for himself in the bag with an exceptional economy. Kiwi spinners Santner, Bracewell, and Ravindra also displayed prowess with the ball.
