India vs New Zealand, Champions Trophy 2025 Final: Rohit, Rahul shine as IND clinch title after tense chase

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: Rachin Ravindra shifts gears in style! He pulls Hardik for a stunning six over deep mid-wicket, then follows it up with two crisp boundaries; one through backward point, another to deep mid-wicket. A statement over from the left-hander!

NZ 26/0 in 4 overs

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: Another tidy over from Shami, keeping the batters in check. Will Young picks up a couple off his pads and sneaks a sharp single, while Ravindra remains solid in defense. A hint of movement on offer, but New Zealand’s openers are handling it carefully.

NZ 10/0 in 3 overs

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: Hardik Pandya begins with a disciplined over, conceding just a single and a wide. He gets some movement off the deck, keeping Ravindra on his toes with a mix of good-length and fuller deliveries. A sharp single aside, New Zealand’s openers remain watchful.

NZ 6/0 in 2 overs

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: First ball, and there’s shape away from the right-handed Will Young! Shami lands it on a good length, getting the ball to move past Young's outside edge. The bowler bowls testing lines to the batter throughout the over before Young punches the final ball for a four. Nevertheless, a promising start for India’s pace ace.

NZ 4/0 after 1 over

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: The wait is over! The players are out in the middle, and the Champions Trophy final is set to begin. India with the ball, New Zealand’s openers – Will Young and Rachin Ravindra – take the crease. Let the battle begin!

IND vs NZ LIVE Score, Champions Trophy Final: Both teams line up for the national anthems at the Dubai International Stadium. The atmosphere is electric, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Just moments away from the first ball of the Champions Trophy final!

IND vs NZ LIVE Score, Champions Trophy Final: Rohit Sharma says he doesn’t mind bowling first, but the surface tells a slightly different story; absolutely grassless and ideal for batting early on. Aaron Finch, in his pitch report, hints that scoring might get tougher as the game progresses. A bad toss to lose for India, or will their bowlers make early inroads?

IND vs NZ LIVE Score, Champions Trophy Final: India stick with their winning combination for the final, making no changes to the XI. New Zealand, however, are forced into a change as Matt Smith misses out due to injury, with Nathan Smith replacing him.

India XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

New Zealand XI: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Kyle Jamieson, William ORourke, Nathan Smith

IND vs NZ LIVE Score, Champions Trophy Final: Rohit Sharma’s luck at the toss refuses to change, as New Zealand call it right in the final. They have decided to bat first, as expected, as Santner and his men look to set the tone for the high-stakes clash.

IND vs NZ LIVE Score, Champions Trophy Final: Rohit Sharma and Mitchell Santner step out to the middle for the all-important toss. A big call coming up; who gets the early advantage?

IND vs NZ LIVE Score, Champions Trophy Final: Rohit Sharma is yet to win a toss in this Champions Trophy. With the toss just 10 minutes away, will luck finally favour him, or will the streak continue? Mitchell Santner and New Zealand, meanwhile, wouldn’t mind calling it right on the big day.

IND vs NZ LIVE Score, Champions Trophy Final: Not a site you'd want to see, no matter which team you support. Matt Henry leaves in tears as he is ruled out of the final. A big blow for the Kiwis as Henry had been in brilliant form, and also took a five-wicket haul against India during the group game in Dubai last week.

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: The players are at the ground, undergoing their drills with half an hour to go for the toss. As some of the cricketers and coaches walk around, they can't help but gaze at the pitch on which today's final will be played. The pitch looks absolutely gorgeous to the naked eye. You can't tell that a game has already been played on this surface. As good as new. But the truth is it's not and only time will tell how much wear and tear this surface has endured following India's game against Pakistan two Sundays ago.

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: Unlike the previous few games at this venues, where the crowd took time to build up, today feels like a big summit feel. Our man at the venue reports that a sea of blue is already starting to form outside the stadium. Indian fans have turned up in abundance. Isn't exactly a repeat of how things looked outside the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on November 19, 2023, but this is the closest you can get to it. Still an hour to go for the toss and already a solid turnout. That's what Team India does, folks. Feels like INDIA ARE IN THE FINAL!

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: Williamson, as he usually does, has gone about his business quietly and excellently. A century in the semifinal, and an 81 against India before that – albeit scratchily, and in 120 deliveries, which is something the former Kiwi skipper will be aware won’t be a luxury this time. If Williamson can stitch together a solid innings at the heart of the Kiwi batting, it’s difficult to see how they won’t have a strong performance, and which is why that will be the key wicket for India, even with the form and danger of Rachin Ravindra.

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: New Zealand is a team that won’t make the same mistakes twice. They fell apart to the bowling of Varun Chakravarthy, after they allowed Shreyas and Axar to reconstruct India’s innings, and for Hardik Pandya to finish it off. Those are the little tactical errors Santner and Co. won’t be making again. Rest assured.

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: The Dubai weather has mostly been on the safer side. It's been hot, warm and occasionally muggy in the UAE, but today is a break from the monotony. The sky is cloudy and overcast, and although the chances of rain are slim, the game may not be out of the woods completely. The good news though is that our man from the ground, has encouraging things to say. "Cloudy day but no threat of rain yet, not by a long way".

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: If you've been a cricket fan long enough, you'll remember the autumn of 2000, when Team India, under a new captain in Sourav Ganguly, reached Nairobi to play the Champions Trophy KNOCKOUT. They beat Australia and South Africa to storm into the final, where, unfortunately, the team ran into an in-form Chris Cairns. Ganguly's second century of the tournament – 117 – took India to 246/6, and despite reducing New Zealand to 132/5, the team could smell victory. But alas! Cairns proved to be the difference, smashing a brilliant 102 not out, and with some support from Chris Harris' 46, saw the BlackCaps through. 25 years later. These two teams are again headlining the final. Will the outcome be different?

Know what? How about y'll recall that game below.

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: It speaks to India’s depth and quality that they haven’t particularly missed Jasprit Bumrah, the best white-ball bowler in the world. Not too many other teams you could potentially say that. But a final is a different kettle of fish: when the pressure is on, and when someone is needed to step up, you simply need a player and clutch performer of that calibre. Remember the T20 World Cup final? No Bumrah rescue act this time. India will need to be just that little bit better to account for his absence.

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: As mentioned earlier, Shreyas Iyer averages a scarcely believable 70.3 against New Zealand. This has also come at a strike-rate of 100, but India will know that this version of Shreyas can explode past that. Pat Cummins spoke of how Iyer was their biggest threat ahead of the World Cup final a couple of years ago, and given his pedigree at number four, this might be the case for the Kiwis as well. Don’t forget his 105 at the Wankhede, or even his crucial 79 last week. This is a man in form.

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: The last time India were in a final, Virat Kohli put the batting effort on his back, guiding the first innings against South Africa in Barbados. Kohli doesn’t have the best record in finals, but that could flip a switch. More crucially, Kohli has looked almost inevitable with bat in hand. He is a bank of runs, and when he gets in the zone, it’s almost as if he is on autopilot. India will be hoping nothing spectacular is required – just the same old Kohli, doing what he does best.

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: Out of active players participating in this match, it is unsurprisingly Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson who lead the way in ODIs, with Kohli having scored 1656 runs at an average of 57.10. Williamson is just behind on 1228, while Rohit Sharma is third, and Tom Latham is fourth, both approaching the four-figure mark.

Surprisingly, it’s Shubman Gill in fifth place, already having scored 592 runs at an average of 74, thanks in large part to his 208 against the Kiwis in Hyderabad. Shreyas Iyer isn’t far behind either, averaging 70 against the Kiwis, most notably his century at the Wankhede in the 2023 World Cup semifinal.

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: Well, the rumour mill is abuzz. Despite no confirmation from Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Ajit Agarkar or any BCCI representative, speculation is rife that the India captain might call it a day today. It all started when Shubman Gill, asked if Rohit was retiring, said, "There's been no such conversation. He'll take a decision after the match". That last line is what got the chatter going. Well, let's break you all some news. That's not how things work. Every time there's a change in leadership, a succession plan is rolled out. You cannot just announce that you're done and walk away. India have a future captain to hone – in this case, Shubman Gill – and Rohit needs to be there to ensure the transition takes place smoothly. At 38, can Rohit push for the World Cup in 2027? Only he can answer that. But is he going to retire after tonight? NOT HAPPENING!

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: In 119 ODI matches, India have a healthy 61-50 lead over the Kiwis, including the last six matches in a row. In ICC events, however, it is neck-and-neck, with the two teams winning six matches each in ODI tournaments, and 1-1 in the Champions Trophy in particular.

There’s no daylight between these two teams at the marquee events, and the team that is able to generate some will come away with the trophy.

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score, Final: Yes, he does have the support of a very capable Hardik Pandya, but Mohammed Shami goes into this final as the lead and sole frontline seamer for India. It’s certainly a gamble, one that paid off against Australia, but also one that will come with a big burden of pressure on the experienced fast bowler. He will be asked to bowl through all phases, as a wicket-taker. India will need him to really leave an impact, especially early in the Kiwis innings. And oh! NO DROPPED CATCHES!