India won another global trophy with a four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final on Sunday.
Captain Rohit Sharma led the chase with 76 off 83 balls and KL Rahul’s unbeaten 34 helped India cross the finish line on 254-6 in 49 overs.
Half-centuries from Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell earlier helped New Zealand, who won the toss and chose to bat first, put on 251-7 in their 50 overs on a slow, two-paced Dubai wicket. But the target rarely look like challenging India, whose openers put on 105 in under 19 overs for the first wicket, before another stunning catch by Glenn Phillips, this time leaping high at mid-off, ended Shubman Gill’s innings.
India’s star batsman, Virat Kohli, fell quickly, lbw to Michael Bracewell for just one run, and when Sharma was stumped of Rachin Ravindra, to leave India on 122 for three, the New Zealanders might have felt they were in with a chance of defending their total. But Shreyas Iyer’s 48 put India in control and they got home comfortably with an over to spare.
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India won the Twenty20 World Cup final against South Africa last year. All their matches were played in Dubai after the Indian government refused permission for its team play in Pakistan, the tournament’s official hosts, on security grounds.
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