Rohit Sharma propelled India to a four-wicket victory over New Zealand to claim the Champions Trophy title.

India's spinners did most of the damage with the ball, and though they had to endure some nervy moments in their own innings, they were able to get over the line with six balls remaining.

It rounds off an unbeaten Champions Trophy campaign for India, who beat New Zealand twice en route to lifting the trophy in Dubai on Sunday.

Will Young and Rachin Ravindra made a slow start for New Zealand with just one boundary in the first two overs, but they soon found their groove as they recorded the biggest opening stand against India in this tournament (57 runs).

Mohammed Shami fumbled a catch on Ravindra, but Varun Chakaravarthy (2-45) was soon brought in, dismissing Young for 15 shortly after.

Despite that dismissal, the Blackcaps hit 69-1 in the powerplay and looked set for an imposing target until India's spinners hit their stride, with two wickets in quick succession.

Kuldeep Yadav (2-40) took Ravindra (37) with his first ball and caught and bowled Kane Williamson (11) just two overs later to effectively halt New Zealand's momentum in the 13th over.

India clinch the #ChampionsTrophy 2025 #INDvNZ : https://t.co/SGA6TKUuGX pic.twitter.com/KNqpqREQ0I

— ICC (@ICC) March 9, 2025

Daryl Mitchell (63) steadied the ship somewhat for New Zealand, with his slowest half-century ever in ODIs, and it took 45 overs for them to breach the 200-run mark.

Michael Bracewell ensured a strong finish, though, hitting three fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 53 off 40 balls, taking New Zealand to 251-7.

With their target set, India came out on a mission for their innings, with Rohit (76) leading the charge with a classic showing. He hit a six off his first delivery to set the tone and reached his half-century in just 41 balls.

The Men in Blue strolled to 100, thanks to Rohit's partnership with Shubman Gill (31), but New Zealand flipped the script with two quick wickets.

Glenn Phillips made a superb, flying one-handed catch to dismiss Gill, with his replacement Virat Kohli (one) lasting just two deliveries before he was trapped lbw by Michael Bracewell (2-28).

Rohit's determination to get India back on track saw him stumped by Tom Latham in the 27th over, but it allowed Shreyas Iyer (48) to come to the fore, though he got some luck along the way.

Kyle Jamieson dropped a sitter from Iyer, with the ball slipping through his hands, but Ravindra made no mistake after the drinks break, holding on to stop the Indian batsman just short of his half-century.

It was too little, too late though as Axar Patel (29) and KL Rahul (34 not out) edged them ever closer, setting up Ravindra Jadeja to seal victory with a four.

India's home away from home

India got to play in Dubai throughout the Champions Trophy, and given their history there, their dominance in this year's competition should come as no surprise. They are now unbeaten in 11 matches in the city, winning 10 of those.

Rohit lost a 12th consecutive coin toss, leaving India with another chase ahead of them, and an uncharacteristic start could have made things harder for them.

Normally turning to Patel when they needed something new with the ball, India instead looked to Varun, with that decision immediately paying off as he took the most important wickets – Ravindra and Williamson.

Their spinners produced 26 wickets in the Champions Trophy this year. In the final, they bowled 38 overs, the third-highest India have used in an ODI innings. 30 of those came between the 11th and 40th, yielding just 103-4.

With the bat, Rohit and Gill's 105-run stand is the third century-opening partnership in a Champions Trophy final and the first since 2017 as they went big from the start.

105 - @ImRo45 and @ShubmanGill's 105-run stand is the 3rd century-opening partnership in a Champions Trophy final, following Sourav Ganguly & Sachin Tendulkar's 141 vs NZ in 2000 and Azhar Ali & Fakhar Zaman's 128 vs IND in 2017. Synergy.#INDvNZ #ChampionsTrophy pic.twitter.com/eEpljj6JgA

— OptaJeev (@OptaJeev) March 9, 2025

India have now won 22 of their last 23 matches in white-ball ICC tournaments, with that sole defeat coming in the ODI World Cup final. They are unbeaten in their last two campaigns, and they finished this one in style.

It is their first Champions Trophy triumph since 2013, while they managed to avoid consecutive defeats in men's ODI finals for the first time since July 2008 as they got over the line.

Black Caps come unstuck against India again

New Zealand were chasing just a second Champions Trophy title, having not won the competition since the turn of the century.

New Zealand struggled against India's spin, at one point going 81 deliveries without a boundary between the 14th and 27th overs.

When it came to the defence, New Zealand had already been dealt a blow prior to the start of the match, with leading wicket-taker Matt Henry (10) unavailable with a shoulder injury he sustained in the semi-final. 

Despite their slow start, New Zealand would not have been worried as their strength lies in the middle overs. Across the tournament, their bowlers claimed 23 of their total 42 wickets (excluding run outs) during the 11th-40th overs, the most of any team.

However, after India's bright start, it was too little, too late, as they once again endured an unhappy return against India. They have now lost their last seven ODIs against India.