India lifted the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 by defeating the Kiwis

India has had a fantastic 2025, with its cricket team winning multiple major trophies. It all started with India’s victory in the ICC Champions Trophy, which they won by defeating New Zealand in the final under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. The success enjoyed by the Men in Blue wasn’t because of one player or performance. It was a collective effort that kept the team unbeaten till the end.

As the year comes to an end, let us remember the Indian heroes one match at a time.

Shami and Shubman

(Credit- NDTV Sports)

India started its campaign against Bangladesh with a six-wicket victory. The team’s bowling unit did well to contain Bangladesh within 228 runs. Special mention must go to Mohammad Shami, who scalped five wickets to dismantle the Bangla batting line-up. On the other hand, Shubman Gill led India’s batting innings, hitting 101 runs to win the game for the Men in Blue.

Kuldeep and Kohli

The second match witnessed a clash between India and PAK. Once again, the Indian bowling line-up rose to the occasion, with Kuldeep Yadav leading the wickets tally. Yadav picked three crucial wickets, and Hardik Pandya joined the party by picking two to restrict PAK to a meagre target of 241 runs. Chasing the target, Virat Kohli scored a heroic hundred that helped India win the second game.

Iyer and Chakaravarthy

(Credit- InsideSport)

In the third game, India took on New Zealand. Batting first, Shreyas Iyer led with his willow, scoring 79 runs in 98 balls. Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya also contributed with their bats, scoring 42 and 45 runs, respectively, taking India’s total to 249 runs. To defend the target, Varun Chakaravarthy became the star man with the ball, picking five crucial wickets. New Zealand succumbed to 205 runs, whereas India topped its group and moved to the semi-final.

Kohli and Shami

(Credit- InsideSport)

In the semi-final, India met Australia, a rival that has hurt India in multiple ICC knockout games, including finals. Fortunately, on this occasion, India kept its nerves. Shami did well to pick three wickets, whereas Chakaravarthy and Ravindra Jadeja also picked two wickets each, halting Australia at 264. In response, Virat Kohli played the most crucial innings of 84 runs, whereas Iyer and KL Rahul scored 45 and 42 runs, respectively. India defeated Australia by four wickets and entered the finale.

Sharma and Shreyas

(Credit- NDTV Sports)

In the finals, the Indian bowling line-up put on a collective show to contain New Zealand within 251 runs. Chasing that target, Rohit Sharma played a captain’s knock by scoring 76 runs. An important cameo was played by Shreyas, who added another 48 runs, whereas KL Rahul towards the end scored 34 runs. The Men in Blue finished the game in the 49th over, winning by four wickets to lift the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.