The Champions Trophy Returns After Eight Years
When the ICC Champions Trophy returned in February-March 2025 after an eight-year hiatus, it brought with it immense excitement, political drama, and cricket at its finest. The tournament — hosted jointly by Pakistan and India (with India playing their matches in a neutral venue due to the bilateral political situation between the two nations) — saw eight of the world's top ODI teams competing in a format beloved for its intensity and quick knockout stakes.
The last Champions Trophy in 2017 saw Pakistan dramatically upset India in the final at The Oval. Eight years later, both nations entered 2025 as formidable contenders, setting the stage for what would become one of cricket's most memorable tournament runs for Team India.
India's Squad and Strategy
India entered the tournament under Rohit Sharma's captaincy with a well-settled squad following their dominant T20 World Cup 2024 victory. The selectors named a 15-man squad with a clear philosophy: batting depth to number 8, pace variety, and Kuldeep Yadav as the designated wicket-taking spinner.
The key players:
- Rohit Sharma (Captain): Seeking to add an ODI tournament title to his T20 World Cup triumph
- Virat Kohli: Returning from a brief break, hungry for runs in ODI cricket's most prestigious bilateral tournament
- Shubman Gill: Vice-captain, carrying the legacy of becoming India's next batting superstar
- Jasprit Bumrah: Despite some fitness concerns, named in the squad and expected to lead the pace attack
- Kuldeep Yadav: The tournament's most dangerous spinner, expected to be the X-factor in subcontinental conditions
- Mohammed Shami: Making a much-anticipated return from a lengthy ankle injury rehabilitation
Group Stage: India's Dominant Run
Match 1 vs Bangladesh: Clinical Victory
India opened their campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai with a comprehensive 7-wicket win. Rohit Sharma set the tone with a blazing 62 off 44 balls at the top, before Virat Kohli anchored the chase with 74* (85 balls). Mohammed Shami announced his return emphatically with 3/34, while Kuldeep took 2/28 in what was a commanding all-round performance.
Match 2 vs Pakistan: The High-Stakes Clash
The India-Pakistan match, played in Dubai, was the tournament's defining spectacle even before a ball was bowled. With an estimated global viewership of 350-400 million — one of the most watched matches in ODI history — the stakes could not have been higher. India batted first and posted 289/7, with Shubman Gill's composed 82 and KL Rahul's crucial 68 in the lower middle order providing solidity.
Pakistan's chase started explosively through Babar Azam (56) and Mohammad Rizwan (48), but Kuldeep Yadav's double breakthrough in the 24th over changed the match's trajectory. Bumrah returned for a decisive spell of 3/42, and India won by 6 runs in a heart-stopping finish — avenging 2017's final defeat on cricket's biggest stage.
Match 3 vs New Zealand: Top of the Group
With qualification already secured, India rested key players against New Zealand but still won convincingly, demonstrating their squad depth. Yashasvi Jaiswal's stunning century (102 off 95 balls) headlined a comprehensive 8-wicket win that saw India top Group A with a perfect record.
Semifinal vs Australia: Thriller Under Lights
India's semifinal against Australia in Lahore was the match of the tournament. Australia posted 287/7 batting first — Steven Smith's gritty 91 and Pat Cummins' explosive late cameo (44 off 22) the key contributions. India's chase was tense from the outset; Rohit Sharma was dismissed early, and at 87/3 after 18 overs, Australia held the advantage.
What followed was a partnership for the ages. Virat Kohli (112*) and Hardik Pandya (67 off 53) added 147 runs in 18 overs, taking India to the brink. When Pandya was dismissed with 44 needed from 6 overs, the match teetered. Kohli — in the form of his life — took India home with a boundary off the third ball of the final over, finishing with 112* off 114 balls in one of his finest ODI innings.
Kohli and Rohit: Vintage Performances
The Champions Trophy 2025 will be remembered for the simultaneous peak performances from Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma — widely considered two of cricket's greatest players of their generation, both approaching the twilight of their ODI careers.
Rohit Sharma finished the tournament as India's leading run-scorer with 378 runs at an average of 63 — including two fifties and one century against England in the final. His captaincy was widely praised: tactically astute, calm under pressure, with particularly fine bowling changes and fielding placements.
Kohli accumulated 423 runs — the tournament's second-highest aggregate — at an average of 84.6 with two centuries. His semifinal innings against Australia recalled the vintage Kohli of the 2012-2016 era: a masterclass in pacing a chase, rotating strike intelligently, and accelerating precisely when required.
India's Champions Trophy Legacy
India has now won the Champions Trophy three times (2002, 2013, and 2025) — more than any other nation. The 2025 victory was particularly emotional for the retiring generation: Rohit Sharma dedicated the trophy to "the millions of fans who supported us through tough times," while speculation immediately began about whether this tournament might represent Kohli's final ICC 50-over event.
For Indian cricket, the Champions Trophy victory — coming months after the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph — affirmed the nation's dominance across both white-ball formats. The next challenge is ICC silverware in Test cricket through the World Test Championship — India have finished as runners-up in WTC 2021 and 2023 — a prize that would complete India's trinity of ICC titles across all formats.