ICC Champions Trophy is ICC's 2nd biggest tournament after the World Cup in ODIs format comes to an end with mixed reactions and feelings. India become champions after defeating New Zealand in a Thrilling final at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, in Dubai. While the tournament showed thrilling cricket, and high-class performances by players with bat and ball.
Tournament Overview:
The top eight teams took part in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, held in Pakistan and Dubai due to geopolitical issues between India and Pakistan The ICC adopted a "hybrid model" this model was criticized and disrupted the tournament schedule and raised questions about fairness.
India showed a dominant performance throughout the tournament remaining unbeaten and displayed strong batting and bowling actions. In the finals, New Zealand set the target of 252 runs with the help of Daryl Mitchell's 63 runs and Michael Bracewell's 53*. India's spinners played an important role especially Kuldeep and V. Chakaravarthy in restricting New Zealand to a low total.
Chasing a low total Indian captain Rohit Sharma's quick 76 runs made it easy for the Indian batters to chase it down. Rohit Sharma was declared Man of the Match and Rachin Ravindra was given Man of the Tournament.
Mixed reactions:
Mixed reaction was seen during and after the end of the tournament. Overall, overall event faced criticism due to the hybrid model which affected the schedule and lack of enthusiasm in the host nation Pakistan, and criticism was also on last-minute preparation of stadiums. New Zealand's captain Mitchell Santner expressed pride in his team's journey to the final but accepted that the team does not hold its nerve again in the tournament decider. This is New Zealand's fourth loss in the white ball finals over the past decade.
In summary, while the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 showed high-quality cricket and concluded with India's historic win, due to the ICC's "hybrid model" and other external issues Tournament faces mixed reactions and criticism.
