Champions of Champions Trophy: Good old days back as India break down another hoodoo

The ODI monkey is off their backs. The white jackets are now on. After four near-misses in the last 12 years or so, India get a 50-over crown that they were so dearly wanting. The heartbreaks of 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2023 turned into jubilation as India break another hoodoo down. 

Not so without their charismatic captain Rohit Sharma. Not so without their batting maestro Virat Kohli. Not so without Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul. Not so without their much-scrutinised five-spin attack and the others. 

Cricket gives a lesson or two. From the highs of winning the Champions Trophy in 2013 to add three ICC titles in six years under MS Dhoni’s leadership, India went into a dry run of 12 years, suffering heartbreak after heartbreak. It teaches the need for acceptance with time and destiny. 

But the barren run is broken once more after the T20 World Cup crown last year and for the first time in ODIs since 2013. Scenes of Rohit Sharma collecting the trophy from ICC chair Jay Shah and lifting it with his teammates sent the Indian fans into euphoria – into the euphoria of lifting an ICC title once again, into the euphoria of being named Champions. We eagerly waited for it.

This was a perfect tournament, finishing off with that fairytale ending that was missing in ODIs. They came close in the 2015 ODI World Cup with an unbeaten run until they met Australia in the semifinal and got whacked. 

They came close in 2017 when they were tipped to be champions of the Champions Trophy, only to be denied by Pakistan in a shocker. 

They were close in 2019, too, when they had another dream run up until the semifinal, where they met the then-bogey New Zealand. MS Dhoni had a tear in his eye. And so did India.

Then came 2023. A team as complete as that team of Rohit Sharma was whacking opposition after opposition, being a team of a different league. A team of a different league with 10 straight wins in a home ODI World Cup, up until they met Australia, who, like they have done so often with others, shattered those dreams. Rohit Sharma had his hand on his face, and Kohli trudged off with his cap on his face. The hearts were broken.

Not now. The monkey is off their backs. The jackets are on. India have been crowned the champions of the Champions Trophy 2025 after they shrugged off the bugbear New Zealand, whom, they had defeated only once out of four tries in ICC events up until the final in Dubai. They had not beaten them in ICC finals ever, losing in 2000 Champions Trophy and then in the WTC 2021 final.

But this was a proper ODI run chase. A chase recipe marked with the perfect ingredients of aggression, composure, calm demeanour and whatnot. They were challenged in the 252-run hunt with three quick wickets after a rollicking start. They were challenged when the Kiwis kept knocking on the door with an odd scalp in between that shifted the pressure and kept the game alive. But they overcame. And they did so as perfectly as one would see to lift the title.

While the ODI World Cup glory is still eluding, these two ICC crowns seem to be bringing back those good old times of the MS Dhoni era when he was collecting trophy after trophy. Rohit has two in his name as well, and that too in space of little over eight months. How rare was that from 2013 to 2024? The good old days are surely back as the hoodoo has been broken for another time.