By Razeen Gutta
The men in blue triumphed over New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy final as Rohit Sharma silenced the critics with a dazzling knock in Dubai on Sunday.
Led out by Rohit, the Indians were asked to chase, after losing the toss for the 15th successive one-day game.
Once again, their spinners were instrumental in restricting the opposition.
After coming into the side late, Varun Chakravarthy continued his stellar form, breaking the ice in the eighth over to dismiss Will Young.
Player of the tournament Rachin Ravindra got a start as he hit 37 off 29 balls, but two overs later, Kuldeep Yadav sent him to the sheds with a sharp googly off his very first delivery.
In the middle overs, Daryl Mitchell steered the Black Caps towards the 200 mark, but Mohammed Shami had his number before Michael Bracewell got his side to a fighting total of 250.
In response, Rohit did what Rohit does best. The Indian skipper struck 76 at a strike rate of over 90, showing intent from ball one.
Shreyas Iyer continued his consistency in the competition with another well-worked 48. Given the final that it was, a twist was always in the script.
Rachin and company gave their side hope until the end with some spin of their own. But KL Rahul guided India home with sheer composure for his 34 off 33, a knock that had to be watched for its impact to have been understood.
India had the advantage of playing their games at one venue, they had the benefit of learning the conditions and not having to travel — but they also had class above the rest, as they won every single game that came their way.
Pakistan’s tournament was India’s. The eleven men on the pitch and the staff in the backroom did not concoct the advantage, they merely worked on merit to get the job done — time and time again on the pitch — where it mattered most.
Pictured above: India
Source: @icc
