Spells: Team India will play New Zealand in the 2025 Champions Trophy final on Sunday, March 9, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The two sides met in the league games where the Men in Blue prevailed over the Kiwis at the same venue.
India are still unbeaten in the tournament, having won all three group games and the semifinal. They defeated Bangladesh to begin their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign before getting past Pakistan and New Zealand to reach the top four from Group A unscathed.
New Zealand, on the other hand, won their opening two matches but succumbed to a defeat against Rohit Sharma and company. However, they have previous experience of playing in Dubai and will bank on it against the Indians.
Meanwhile, this is the third time in a row that India are playing the Champions Trophy final. There have been several praiseworthy bowling performances from Indian bowlers in the title-deciding clashes.
On that note, let’s look at India’s top 5 spells in Champions Trophy finals.
India’s top 5 spells in Champions Trophy finals
#5 Ravindra Jadeja – 2/24 – 2013
The cricketer from Saurashtra is arguably one of the best all-rounders to have represented Team India. He has stood up for his side with clutch performances every time the team have been under the pump.
Similarly, Ravindra Jadeja bowled a clutch spell in the 2013 Champions Trophy final against England in Birmingham. Defending 129 runs in a 20-over rain-affected game, Jadeja picked up the wickets of Ian Bell and Jos Buttler to return with figures of 2/25 from four overs.
The Men in Blue eventually defended the total against a quality England side to win by five runs and lift the title for the second time.
#4 Ravichandra Ashwin – 2/15 – 2013
The former India spinner also weaved his magic in the 2013 Champions Trophy final against England. Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja spun a web around the English batters, making it difficult for them in a low-scoring clash.
Ashwin picked up the crucial wickets of Jonathan Trott and Joe Root in the middle overs to halt England’s run chase. The seasoned off-spinner registered figures of 2/15 from four overs.
The hosts eventually scored 124/8 while chasing 130 to lose by five runs.
#3 Zaheer Khan – 3/44 – 2002
Former pacer Zaheer Khan is arguably the greatest left-arm pacer India have witnessed. His ability to move the new ball and then extract reverse swing with the old ball made him stand apart from the rest.
The Mumbai cricketer struck on the very first ball of the match, dismissing Sanath Jayasuriya for a golden duck. He also picked up the wickets of Mahela Jayawardene and Chaminda Vaas to return with 3/44 in 50 overs.
India scored 38/1 in 8.4 overs but no further play was possible. It was then decided that a new match would be played on the reserve day. However, rain played spoilsport again, and India and Sri Lanka were declared joint winners.
#2 Harbhajan Singh – 3/27 – 2002
The 2002 Champions Trophy final in Colombo between India and Sri Lanka couldn’t be completed due to incessant rainfall. A new match was supposed to be played on the reserve day.
Spells: The Lankans won the toss and chose to bat first. They got a good start but Harbhajan Singh picked up three wickets in quick succession to break the flow of runs. He dismissed well-set Marvan Atapattu and Kumara Sangakkara before picking up the wicket of Aravinda de Silva.
Spells: Harbhajan’s 3/27 helped India restrict Sri Lanka to 244/5 but rain followed soon after India’s run chase began to play spoilsport. As a result, both teams were declared joint winners.
#1 Venkatesh Prasad – 3/27 – 2000
Spells: India batted first in that contest in Nairobi and posted 264/6, thanks to an excellent century from skipper Sourav Ganguly. In response, Venkatesh Prasad got the team off to a fiery start, dismissing Craig Spearman and Stephen Fleming.
Spells: He returned to get the better of Chris Harris but Chris Cairns’ unbeaten 102 was enough to see the Blackcaps home. Prasad returned with 3/27 in that game, which is till date the best bowling spell by an Indian bowler in a Champions Trophy final.