- The New Zealand team led by Mitchell Santner suffered a humiliating defeat in the final match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 played in Dubai on Sunday. Batting first, the Kiwi team set a target of 252 runs in 50 overs.
The New Zealand team led by Mitchell Santner suffered a humiliating defeat in the final match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 played in Dubai on Sunday. Batting first, the Kiwi team set a target of 252 runs in 50 overs. In response, Team India won the title by scoring 254 runs in 49 overs. After New Zealand lost the match, captain Mitchell Santner looked very disappointed and discussed the mistakes made by the team in the clash.
New Zealand suffered a humiliating defeat
New Zealand, who won the toss and elected to bat first, got off to a great start from Will Young and Ravindra Jadeja. The two shared a half-century partnership of 57 runs for the first wicket. In 7.5 overs, Varun Chakravarthy dismissed Will Young to give the Kiwi team the first blow, after which their wickets started falling. However, Daryl Mitchell (63) and Michael Bracewell (53) hit half-centuries to take New Zealand’s score to 251. In response, Team India scored 245 runs in 49 overs with the help of explosive innings of Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer and won the title by 4 wickets.
Mitchell Santner explains where New Zealand went wrong
After New Zealand lost the Champions Trophy final, captain Mitchell Santner said that the Indian spinners bowled brilliantly and put pressure on our batting order. He said,
“It was a good tournament for us. We faced challenges throughout the journey, but the way we developed as a group is commendable. Today we were beaten by a better team. Everyone contributed throughout the tournament and stepped up and took responsibility at different times. We bowled well, but lost a few wickets after the powerplay and then they put pressure on us. The way their spinners bowled, full credit goes to them. They are world-class bowlers. We fell 20-25 runs short of our expectations.”
These players are praised a lot
Mitchell Santner praised Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips and said,
“[On Glenn Phillips’ catch] He does it again and again! The way Rohit and Shubman started was brilliant. Rohit playing almost run-a-ball on this pitch was brilliant. We knew the game could change quickly, and that’s what happened. [On Rachin Ravindra] We have seen how he comes forward and performs well in these big tournaments. He was brilliant with the ball as well. His understanding of the game at such a young age is amazing.”
“He has a very bright future. Even today he kept a strike rate above run-a-ball. It was a great experience [first ICC tournament as captain]. This group makes it easy. Different players took responsibility at different times, which made the job more seamless. We faced some challenges, but we adapted to them well. It was a great tournament.”