India experienced jubilation and euphoria after scripting a memorable win against New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai on Sunday. Mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, a prime force in India's talented pool of spin attack, was a late admission in India's 15-player squad. Varun ended the tournament as the joint second-highest wicket-taker, boasting nine scalps in three matches, a "dream come true" campaign for him.
Varun picked 2-45 in the 2025 Champions Trophy final against New Zealand and provided India their first breakthrough by trapping Will Young lbw with a leg-break, before castling Glenn Phillips with a googly.
Varun also poked fun at those who criticized India's Champions Trophy win because they only had one home base in Dubai. He showed off his lighter side by engaging in some amusing internet banter. After winning the Champions Trophy, he threw a sneaky jab to those who argued that India's unfair advantage of playing all of their matches in Dubai helped them win the tournament.
With the cheekiest of captions, Varun shared his celebration photos on Instagram, showing him drinking coffee while holding the Champions Trophy in a hotel. The post reads, "A lot of distance was travelled to get a taste of this Cup."
Despite the fact that India had the advantage of being in Dubai for the duration of the three-week competition, Varun’s individual performances demonstrated that India's victory was due to the talent and depth in their squad.
In contrast to a team like New Zealand, which traveled from Pakistan to Dubai for their group match against India, returned to Lahore for their semifinal match against South Africa, and then returned to Dubai for the final, complaints were made regarding India's convenient schedule.
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The biggest complaint about the scheduling was made by South Africa, who had to fly to Dubai due to a lack of knowledge about the location of their semifinal match before quickly returning to Lahore.
However, after cruising through the group stages and defeating Australia in the quarterfinal, India made sure that whatever edge they did have was translated into a victory in the final. Varun was a crucial member of the team, collecting five wickets against the Kiwis in the groups before getting Will Young's maiden wicket to pave the stage for the blue team's victory and their first ICC ODI trophy since 2013.
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