The Men in Blue chased down 252 runs in a topsy-turvy encounter that was capped off by the duo of Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul, who remained unbeaten until the end.
New Zealand batted first to put up 251 on the board, as Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy starred with a couple of important dismissals.
Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell notched 63 and 53 runs respectively, and a late surge allowed the Kiwis to put up a formidable target. Rohit Sharma top-scored with 76 runs as Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill chipped in with 48 and 31 runs respectively to produce a well-coordinated run chase.
Hardik Pandya presented a fine cameo of 18 runs where a couple of boundaries eased pressure off the Indian run chase.
Jadeja finished the second innings with a fantastic pull short as firecrackers burst across the whole stadium, with the Men in Blue bringing home an ICC ODI event for the first time in 12 years, since they last won the Champions Trophy in 2013.
Rahul scored 34 off 33, ringing in a four and a maximum each in his knock to stay composed right until the end and brush aside the spirited challenge put forth by the Kiwi players.
While India appeared to be cruising towards a comfortable victory after a 105-run opening partnership between Rohit and Shubman Gill. However, a quite fall of wickets, sparked by Bracewell, ensured that the Mitchell Santner-led side was never drawn out of the contest.
First Published: Mar 9, 2025 9:48 PM IST
