4 min readUpdated: Mar 6, 2026 03:52 PM IST
The similarities are uncanny. When India take to the field for the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand on Sunday, it would be almost to the day a year ago when the same two sides met in Dubai to decide who won the ICC Champions Trophy.
It was March 9, 2025 when skipper Rohit Sharma led from the front with an 83-ball 76 as India overhauled the target of 252 set by the Black Caps for a four-wicket win. It was the second successive ICC white-ball trophy for the Men in Blue after the T20 World Cup triumph the previous year, and Suryakumar Yadav and his men would like to make
it three out of three in Ahmedabad on Sunday. They seem to be making up for lost time after India went 11 years without a major ICC crown.
On that day in Dubai, New Zealand got off to a fast start with the bat after winning the toss. Rachin Ravindra was the more aggressive opener with a 29-ball 37 as the Kiwis reached 57 in less than eight overs.
As had been the trend throughout the tournament, India’s spin attack soon turned the tide. Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel bowled a lion’s share of the overs and were hard to get away. They not only brought the run rate down but also chipped away at the wickets. Ravindra and Will Young couldn’t carry the good work and were soon joined back in the pavilion by Kane Williamson and Tom Latham. New Zealand were reduced to 108/4 in the 24th over, and it fell to Daryl Mitchell (63 off 101 balls) and Glenn Phillips (34 off 52) to stem the rot with a 57-run partnership.
But the innings hadn’t got much impetus and it was only due to Michael Bracewell’s (53 not out off 40 balls) late flurry that the Black Caps breached the 250-run mark.
Kuldeeep (2/40) and Varun (2/45) were the most successful bowlers in terms of wickets, but Jadeja (1/30) and Axar (0/29 in eight overs) were miserly as well. The spinners more than made up for the expensive pacers – Mohammed Shami (1/74 in nine overs) and Hardik Pandya (0/30 in three) – as 38 of the 50 overs were bowled by the tweakers.
When it came to the chase, an opening stand of 105 in less than 19 overs between Rohit and Shubman Gill (31) put India firmly in the driver’s seat. The partnership was broken by a flying catch in the covers by Phillips, which brought Virat Kohli to the crease.
Story continues below this ad
But the Kiwis never let go without a fight and Mitchell Santner’s side proceeded to make a match of it. Kohli came and went and when Rohit was stumped off Ravindra, India were suddenly 122/3 in the 27th over, with more than half of the target still to get.
Shreyas Iyer (48 off 62 balls) and Axar (29 off 40) added 61 for the fourth wicket, but when both of them fell within 20 runs of each other, the Kiwis would have sensed a chance with 49 runs to get off 51 balls with five wickets in hand.
It was here that the experience and calm head of KL Rahul came handy with an unbeaten 34 off 33 balls and even though Hardik was dismissed with 11 to get off 15 balls, the four-wicket win was secured with an over to spare.
Despite it being less than a year since that clash, the two sides will bear a largely different look when they face off in the ICC T20 World Cup final on Sunday. Of the 11 Indians who took the field in Dubai, only Axar, Hardik, Varun and Kuldeep are part of the present squad. As for New Zealand, who will be led once again by ice-cool Santner, Rachin, Mitchell, Phillips and Kyle Jamieson are the common factors who will hope for a different outcome this time.
