Five reasons why India won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025

The ICC Champions Trophy came to a close on Sunday evening, as India got through a nervy chase against New Zealand to claim the trophy. Skipper Rohit Sharma got his hands on his second trophy in less than a year, as India claimed their 3rd Champions Trophy title. Without any doubt, India were one of the favourites to win this competition. They have one of the most settled and well-balanced teams in limited-overs cricket. India also had the advantage of playing all their games at the same venue - the Dubai International Stadium.

Nevertheless, Rohit Sharma and co. went out there and played almost flawlessly to add another trophy to their kitty. Here are 5 reasons why India won the ICC Champions Trophy. 

1. Spin to win

India knew that they would be playing all their games at the Dubai International Stadium, and picked a squad that would be best suited to the conditions. They knew that the pitches in Dubai would be slow and aiding turn, so they picked four spinners in their team. Axar, Kuldeep, Jadeja, and Chakaravarthy bowled well in tandem and were a nuisance to the opposition batters. They slowed down the batters in the middle overs and squeezed out the runs, making it easier to get wickets. 

2. Settled batting line-up

Team India had pretty much the same batting line-up that they had for the 2023 ODI World Cup. Even in that tournament, they were head and shoulders ahead of the others before they finally stumbled in the final. Every player in the team has a clear role and responsibility, and the batters also have the familiarity of having played with each other for an extended period of time. Rohit Sharma tends to play aggressively and so does Shreyas Iyer, while Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill are better as anchor players. KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya have excelled as finishers, and Axar Patel has been a positive inclusion in this setup. 

3. ‘Home’ advantage

While all the other teams had to travel across Pakistan and then fly over to Dubai to face India, Rohit Sharma’s side had the advantage of playing all their games at the Dubai International Stadium. They had the benefit of staying in the same hotel, having minimal travel and adjusting to the familiarity of the pitch and conditions in Dubai. No travel fatigue and the familiarity of conditions could be very understated in a global tournament like the Champions Trophy, as proven by India. 

4. Experienced unit

This current Indian team has plenty of players on the wrong side of 30, with the rumours of retirement circling around so many of these veteran cricketers. However, it was their collective experience that would have held India in good stead in the Champions Trophy. This was Virat Kohli’s 4th ICC Trophy, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma’s third. Apart from winning so many trophies, these players have been a part of plenty of high-pressure knockout games. The Indian team had the most cumulative matches compared to all other teams, and that experience came in handy at the Champions Trophy. 

5. Correcting mistakes from 2023 World Cup

India were unbeaten heading into the 2023 ODI World Cup final, before they stumbled against Australia. A reason for that stumble was a lack of batting depth and using only five specialist bowlers in the team after the injury to Hardik Pandya. That was one aspect that skipper Rohit Sharma was keen to correct post the 2023 ODI World Cup.

He packed the middle order with all-rounders which meant India batted deep and allowed the top-order players to play confidently without worrying too much about the batting to follow. It also ensured that bowlers could get away with a bad day since there were enough options to cover the overs.