India vs New Zealand, Final - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Remember, Dinesh Karthik will answer your questions after the 2025 Champions Trophy Final! Send your questions, cricket videos using #heyCB to be featured in our next episode.

The Champions Trophy returned after a gap of 8 years. Pakistan were the defending champions and the host nation. Though there were some washed out games and Pakistan themselves crashed out after the group stage, there was some quality cricket played from the other teams. Australia's 350+ chase, Ibrahim Zadran's once in a lifetime knock against England, the semis and final involving India went down to the wire. It was a short and quick tournament. We hope you enjoyed our coverage right through. It is time to bring the curtains down on this event. Until next time, this is Akshay Maanay signing off on behalf of Anurag Hegde, Pradeep Krishnamurthy and Praveen P. Goodbye!

Stats by Roshan Gede and Deepu Narayanan

Most overs of spin in an ICC tournament ODI game
73 - IND vs NZ, Dubai, CT 2025 Final
65.1 - IND vs AUS, Dubai, CT 2025 SF
62.3 - IND vs NZ, Dubai, CT 2025
60 - PAK vs WI, Dhaka, QF, 1998
60 - AFG vs PAK, Headingley, CWC 2019

ICC Champions Trophy titles
2 - Australia (2006, 2009)
2 - India (2013, 2025)
1 - New Zealand (2000)
1 - South Africa (1998)
1 - West Indies (2004)
1 - Pakistan (2017)
The 2002 edition was shared between India and Sri Lanka.

India in last three ICC white-ball tournaments
Matches: 24
Won: 23
Lost: 1
*CWC, T20 WC and CT

India in Champions Trophy
Matches: 34
Wins: 23
Defeats: 8
NR: 3
W/L ratio: 2.875
No other team has more than 15 wins in the competition’s history, and the next best win-loss ratio is Australia’s 1.444.

Most ODI wins without a defeat at a venue
10 - India, Dubai (11 matches, 1 tied)
10 - New Zealand, Dunedin
7 - India, Indore
7 - Pakistan, Hyderabad (Niaz Stadium, Pakistan)

This was India's seventh straight ODI win over New Zealand

Captains with POTM award in Men’s ICC tournament finals
Clive Lloyd (West Indies, CWC 1975)
Ricky Ponting (Australia, CWC 2003)
MS Dhoni (India, CWC 2011)
Rohit Sharma (India, CT 2025)

India were playing only at one venue. India were staying at one place. India were not traveling. India had the advantage. But India still needed to go out there and win a game of cricket which they managed to do each and every time. They were put under pressure at various times but they found someone to bail them out. That was the beauty of this win. Each and every member played a part at some point of the tournament or the other. There were hundreds from Gill and Kohli, Shami and Varun picked up 5-fers, Iyer was the highest run-getter, Rahul was calm while chasing, Axar and Jadeja were at their miserly best, Kuldeep picked up those two important wickets in the final, while skipper Rohit saved his best for the most important game. This was a strong Indian team, they were the favorites and they lived up to that billing.

New Zealand and their heartbreaks in a final. The 2019 World Cup loss might be still haunting some of the players and now they have another to deal with. But they played some brilliant cricket through the tournament and just fell short today. Always flying under the radar at the start of an ICC tournament but time and again they reach the semis or the final thanks to their collective team work. Their experienced pacers - Tim Southee and Trent Boult have retired from the format, Matt Henry, their lead bowler, was ruled out on the morning of the game, there was no wristspinner in the XI and still they ran India so close. Mitchell Santner was brilliant as a captain. He did the best with the resources he had at his disposal. He and his team can walk away from this final with their heads held high.

The teams gather in front of the 'Champions' hoarding and have photographs taken before Virat sprays champagne all over Rishabh Pant. Hardik takes the trophy out to the pitch and has some photographs taken. He's promptly joined by Jadeja, Axar and Shubman. There are groups of players celebrating all around. Virat and Rohit are having a chat, Shreyas Iyer is dancing as confetti swirls around everywhere. The teams reconvene at the 'Champions' hoarding and have more photographs taken, this time with the entire support staff as well. Shreyas Iyer and Harshit Rana pose in front of it and show off a couple of moves. They then take turns posing with the trophy. Rohit, Virat and Jadeja walk off towards their families.

The winners' white jackets are being presented to the Indian players. Starting with Varun Chakaravarthy and they all come one by one. Rohit is the last one in the lineup. Will he do the slow walk today as well? Jay Shah to present the trophy. Rohit collects the trophy. The rest of the team join him on the podium. The confetti goes off in the background as India celebrate under the CHAMPIONS 2025 board. The celebrations will go late into the night.

Rohit Sharma | India captain: I want to appreciate everyone who came out and supported us. The crowd here has been magnificent, it is not our home ground but they made it our home ground. The number of people that came here to watch us play and to get that result in the end was very very satisfying. Not just this game but right from the beginning, our spinners in particular, there's too much expectations when you are playing on a pitch like that, but they never disappointed. We do understand their strengths playing on pitches like this, it helped them and we used that to our advantage. We played some really good cricket and throughout the tournament in terms of our bowling we were very very consistent. (on KL) Very very solid mind, never gets overawed by the pressure around him, that's one of the reason we wanted to have him in the middle phase, to try and finish off the game for us. With his experience and class, there's a bit of calmness when he bats and he picks the right shot to play in the pressure situation which allows the other guys who are batting around him to come out and play freely for example Hardik. He came out and played some really good shots in both games which gave us a little bit of a breather. Overall the batsmanship that was shown by all our batters throughout the tournament was superb. (on Varun) He has got something different about him - I have said it many a times. When you are playing on a pitch like that you want the batters to force on him and that's where he becomes a lot more dangerous, that was the thought which went behind getting him into the squad and actually playing him. He didn't start off in the tournament for us, but when he played against New Zealand and he got five wickets, we saw the kind of ability he possesses with the ball and we wanted to maximise that and he did not disappoint. He has got great quality about his bowling and luckily for us it came to use at various times. Very grateful, really appreciate their support coming out in huge numbers and getting behind the team. It may not be seen as useful as the game that we play but when they come out and get behind the team it makes a huge difference. And like I said, they made it feel like home so that was very very good from them.

Now it is India's players walking out to receive the medals. Last one would be Rohit Sharma and chants of "Rohit, Rohit" once again ring around the venue.

Mitchell Santner | New Zealand captain: It has been a good tournament. We had challenges along the way, but we have grown as a group and played some good cricket. We were just beaten by a good side who turned up today. Lot of good stuff from our group, guys stepping up at different times and everyone contributed, that's all you can ask for as a captain and as a team. (on slowing down during the middle-overs) It was good bowling. We lost a couple of wickets after the powerplay. They really got the squeeze on. Credit to the way their spinners bowled, all four of them, world-class bowlers and they showed that again today. We were probably 20 under, maybe 25 under of what we wanted to get but we knew we had a total, we tried to fight and that's what we did. (on Phillips' catch) He keeps doing it doesn't he. The powerplay was the best time to bat, Rohit and Gill cashed in, Rohit's innings was outstanding, almost a run-a-ball on that wicket and it put us on the back foot, but we knew the game could change quickly and we kept chipping away at the wickets and stayed in the game. (on Ravindra) We have seen how he steps up in these major events which is all you can ask for, he has been outstanding with the ball and even GP. He understands his game at such a young age and has a massive future no doubt, even today the way he put the pressure back on India for a while there. It has been very enjoyable, made easier by the group. Different guys stepping up at different times makes my job a little bit easier and I can't thank the boys enough for the work they have put in this tournament. We had different challenges but we have adapted as quickly as we can to each surface we have played on, playing on different wickets throughout and yeah so close but it has been a great tournament.

We are ready for the presentations. Aaron Finch brings out the trophy and places it on the middle of the dais. The match officials starting with match referee Ranjan Madugalle walk up to the podium to collect their medals.

Rachin Ravindra | Player of the Tournament: Obviously it is bitter-sweet. It was a great final. We played some really good cricket in the lead up, it was a good game and congratulations to India. The build up to the tournament was great and playing for a great team was very enjoyable. I don't know, maybe we get to play on good wickets, I enjoy tournament cricket because it is the accumulation of the work you have done and it is a common goal of getting to the final, so you take each game by that and I certainly enjoyed that. Very proud of my past. There are so many people to thank along the way that I couldn't do that if I sit here for an hour. Very thankful for everyone who has helped me along the way and it would have been nice to have the icing on the cake by winning the trophy, but it is what it is, cricket can be a cruel game sometimes. I always like to bowl. Santner always gives me a bit of banter that I am not bowling enough in the nets, I have to do that to add a little bit more overs. All members of the squad have a part to play and that's great with the Black Caps squad, not necessarily like an established player or a newbie, that's the beauty about the environment and we just quietly go about our business and show confidence in the team. When you have more experience going along, it helps you in situations like this.

Still some time left for the presentation and one sees Kohli being hugged by his wife - Anushka. Rohit is there with his wife and little daughter. Gill with the tricolour wrapped around his shoulders is having a chat with Kane Williamson.

Rohit Sharma | Player of the Match: It is very nice. We played some really good cricket whole through the tournament, to come out here and having the result our way is a great feeling, very very happy with how we played this game. It (attacking game) is not natural to me but it is something I really wanted to do, when you are trying to do something different you need the backing of the team, you need the backing of the management and they were right through with me. In the ODI World Cup as well with Rahul bhai, this is what I spoke to him and he was very much okay with it, and now Gauti bhai as well. It's all about getting the backing of the team and the management as well. It's something I really wanted to do. I have played all these years in a different style, but I wanted to try and do something different, try and see if we can play differently and get the results that we were looking for. Having played here on few occasions, you understand the nature of the pitch, what it does initially upfront with the new-ball, using my feet is something I have been doing for a long time now and it is about being clear in my mind, I was very clear how I wanted to execute that first 5-6 overs, I have gotten out doing that as well but I never wanted to look away from that, the results is not going to be consistent in what I'm trying to achieve, but as long as it serves the purpose of the team, if it serves the purpose of what we are trying to do, I am happy with that. It makes a lot easier and gives you that freedom as well, which is why I wanted to have batting depth as long as possible, as deep as possible. Playing 8 batsmen, Jadeja coming at 8 gives you that confidence to go slightly hard upfront with the new-ball, if it comes off it comes off, if it doesn't then so be it. As long as I'm clear in my mind, that's the most important thing.

Shubman Gill: Felt amazing, for the most part I was sitting back and enjoying Rohit bhai's batting. We kept talking to each other and the partnership was very important for us. He told me it doesn’t matter how many balls you are behind, just keep looking at the scoreboard and you have to play till the end. Definitely very satisfying, we missed out on the last one that we played in 2023. Winning this one is a surreal feeling, winning 8 ODIs back to back starting with the ODIs against England is an amazing feeling. Watching him (Kohli) on the TV and ended up playing against him and seeing the intensity with which he plays is just phenomenal to watch and I think it tells us what the game is all about. Him giving his everything and that’s the only thing that he talks about even off the field as well. You know, giving your everything when you’re playing on the field and for him to be able to back his words like that is just phenomenal. (on New Zealand) They’re very consistent, they come up with plans and execute it with the utmost accuracy that they can. Playing against them is always a challenge. They’re going to give it their all, whether that is in batting, bowling or fielding and we definitely saw that tonight. Wasn’t that easy chase for us and credit to them for the way they come out and play consistent cricket.

Virat Kohli: It's been amazing firstly, we wanted to bounce back after a tough Australia tour, wanted to win a big tournament and we ended up doing that. It's an amazing feeling. Lovely playing with a bunch of such amazing youngsters. So much talent in the changeroom, they're taking Indian cricket forward in the right direction. We’re happy to share our experience and try to make an impact whenever we get a chance (role of the seniors) but these guys are stepping up in a massive way and that’s why we’re such a strong team. These are the things you look forward to when you’ve played for so long and have had such a long career, you look forward to playing under pressure and you walk in and put your hand up. I think to win titles, which has kind of been missing in the past, the whole team has to step up in different games. And you can see in this tournament, over the course of five matches, everyone has put their hand up somewhere or the other and that’s why we’ve ended up winning this tournament. People have made such impactful knocks, such impactful spells and it’s only a collective effort that can win you a title. I’m just so happy we were able to play as a unit and enjoy ourselves, we’ve had such an amazing time as a team here - in practice sessions, on the field, off the field - it’s been honestly an amazing amazing tournament for us. As Shubman said, I try to speak to these guys as much as possible, try to share my experience of how I’ve been able to play for so long, try to step in and improve their game wherever I can. It’s only as they rightly say, when you leave, you want to leave the place in a better position and that’s our effort. That’s what we’re striving for and when eventually we’re finally done at whatever stage, we have a squad that’s ready to take on the world for the next 8-10 years. And these guys definitely have the talent to do so and also the game awareness, they’ve stepped up already on so many occasions and played so many impactful innings. This guy (Shubman) and Shreyas beautiful, KL (Rahul) has been finishing games, Hardik is a matchwinner so we are in good hands. Amazing (on the New Zealand team), we've always been in awe of what they can do with the limited number of players they’ve had over the years and just maximise their talent to the absolute maximum. Every time you played against them in big games, you know they’re going ton with a set plan. No other team executes their plans as well as they do. Every fielder knows exactly where the bowler is going to bowl and you can sense it when they attack the ball, the bowler is going to be so accurate and they know. Credit to them, they’ve probably been the most consistent team over the last few years in big tournaments and the reason for that is their immense belief in their skills and the amount of talent that they have to utilise it to the maximum. They’re easily the best fielding side in the world. Huge shoutout to them, they continue to display why they are one of the top teams in the world, again a great campaign. Sad to see a very good friend of mine on the losing side (on Kane Williamson), but I’ve been on the losing side a couple of times when he’s been on the winning side. Only love between us.

Kuldeep Yadav (translated from Hindi): Luckily (didn't have to go out and bat). Credit to KL (Rahul) bhai and Jaddu (Jadeja) bhai for finishing the game. There will be expectations when you are playing well. You get the tag of favourites but I don't believe in that tag. We have played good cricket over the last three years. Such are the expectations of the fans and the way we have played this tournament has been awesome. It is easy to say we are playing 4 spinners but it is very difficult to manage four spinners on the field. The way Rohit bhai managed it was outstanding. Because to read the batter, understand which batter will come out in certain situations, who should bowl when.. There is a lot of planning. It is not like it happens in one day. It was a plan since 2-3 days of how and what to bowl. We will party and the entire nation will party as well.

Varun Chakaravarthy: I do have earrings like Shreyas Iyer (on having earrings), I'll get a new one though. It was a sudden inclusion (on being part of the XI from the league match against New Zealand), I didn't expect it to turn out like this, it's a dream come true. The spin was less in the first innings and we had to be very disciplined and stick to the stumps.

Shreyas Iyer: Feeling ecstatic to be honest, it’s ineffable, hard to say it in words to be honest. My first ICC trophy, I’m quite overwhelmed looking at each and everyone in the dressing room. The way we have turned up towards this tournament and the way we have progressed, it’s been great. To be honest, I love to go under pressure, whenever there's a challenge, I feel like I thrive under pressure and I love this moment. It's just that I have been getting amazing starts in the tournament and not able to get a big one, but at the end of the day, if I'm able to contribute towards team's victory, that is immensely satisfying and I'm truly happy. (on if he is going to get a new set of earstuds) Hopefully, hopefully, but these are the lucky ones, I will keep them as much as possible.