Brilliant Rohit Sharma inspires India to a third ICC champions trophy title

DUBAI: India defeated New Zealand by four wickets to clinch their third ICC champions trophy title in the match held at Dubai. India chased down the target of 252 runs set by the Kiwis with 6 balls to spare. Captain Rohit Sharma, with a brilliant half-century, was the top scorer in the Indian innings. As icing on the cake, India won the trophy without losing a single match in the tournament.

Chasing a target of 252 runs, India got off to a flying start with captain Rohit Sharma (76/83) and vice-captain Shubman Gill (31/50) putting on 105 runs for the opening wicket. Rohit Sharma played his usual attacking style while Gill restricted to a much calmer display. The partnership was broken when Glenn Phillips dismissed Gill with a flying catch in the 19th over bowled by Kiwi skipper Mitchell Santner. But while trying to increase the run rate, Rohit Sharma was stumped by Tom Latham off a delivery from Rachin Ravindra. Rohit's innings included seven fours and three sixes.

India needed 130 more runs to win when Rohit Sharma was dismissed. From there, Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer put on a 61-run partnership off 75 balls to take the team ahead. India was just 69 runs away from victory when Shreyas Iyer was dismissed for 48 (62) by captain Mitchell Santner. Wicketkeeper KL Rahul came to the crease as the sixth man to join Axar.

With the team's score at 203, Axar Patel was dismissed for 29 (40) after playing an unnecessary shot. Axar returned after being caught by Will O'Rourke off a delivery from Michael Bracewell. India was still 49 runs away from victory. With just 11 runs to go, Hardik Pandya was dismissed for 18(18) in the sixth over. However, Rahul navigated the game to safety while Jadeja smashed a four to finish the game in style.