IND vs NZ: India Eyes Seventh ICC Title After Reaching Another ICC Champions Trophy Final

IND vs NZ: India has reached the finals of ICC tournaments 14 times so far, eyes will be set on the seventh title

IND vs NZ: The Indian team led by Rohit Sharma has managed to make it to the final of another ICC tournament. India has entered the title match of the ICC Champions Trophy, where it will face New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday. India has remained undefeated in this tournament so far and has reached the final by winning four consecutive matches. India is now one step away from the title.

India’s performance in ICC tournaments has been excellent in the last few years. The Indian team won the T20 World Cup last year under the captaincy of Rohit by defeating South Africa, which was its first ICC title in 11 years. Now just after eight months, the team has reached the final of the second ICC tournament and is very close to the title. However, the challenge of New Zealand is not going to be easy for India as the same team defeated them in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) in 2021 about four years ago. 

IND vs NZ: India-New Zealand will clash in the title match after 25 years

India defeated Australia in the semi-finals, while New Zealand entered the title match by defeating South Africa. After 25 years, once again these two teams will face each other in the title match of ICC’s limited-overs format. Interestingly, the last time both the teams played in the final of ICC’s limited-overs format was in the ICC Knockout Trophy (now ICC Champions Trophy) in 2000. At that time, New Zealand won the title by defeating India by four wickets. 

India has reached the knockouts consistently

India has dominated ICC tournaments in the last few years. India may have missed the chance to win the title but has been successful in reaching the knockout matches consistently. The last time the ICC Champions Trophy was held in 2017, India reached the finals but missed out on winning the title. After this, the team reached the semi-finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup, where New Zealand defeated it and knocked it out of the tournament. India also lost in the first WTC final in 2021. Then in the 2023 WTC final and the 2023 ODI World Cup final, India was defeated by Australia. India’s drought of winning an ICC title ended in 2024 when Team India won the T20 World Cup under Rohit’s captaincy. 

Opportunities were missed many times, the drought ended last year

India won the World Cup title for the first time in 1983 under the leadership of Kapil Dev, which was its first ICC title. After this, the team reached the final of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2000 but lost to New Zealand. In 2002, it became joint winner with Sri Lanka in the same tournament. The very next year Indian team reached the final of the ODI World Cup in 2003 under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly, but the country’s dream was shattered once again and the team had to face defeat at the hands of Australia. In 2007, under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India defeated Pakistan in the final of the first T20 World Cup. 

Exactly four years later, under Dhoni’s captaincy, India won the title by defeating Sri Lanka in the final of the 2011 ODI World Cup played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Under Dhoni’s leadership, India defeated England in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. This was India’s third ICC title under Dhoni’s captaincy. After this, the Indian team yearned for the title. India lost to Sri Lanka in the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup. At the same time, Pakistan defeated them in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017. The team also lost in the 2021 WTC Final and 2023 WTC Final, while the team also faced defeat in the title match of the 2023 ODI World Cup on home ground. However, India’s title drought on the ground of Barbados ended last year and now the country is hoping for another ICC title. 

13 finals, 6 titles and India awaits one more ICC trophy

India has reached the finals of ICC tournaments a total of 13 times including all formats before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final. Out of these, the team has been successful in winning the title six times. India has won ICC titles in 1983, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2024. If India succeeds in defeating New Zealand on Sunday, it will be its seventh ICC title, while it will be the second consecutive ICC trophy under Rohit’s captaincy.

ALSO READ: MS Dhoni And Sachin Tendulkar Still Get Paid By BCCI Post Retirement