CT 2025 Preview: Will Rohit take retirement after IND vs NZ final today?

The India vs New Zealand final will begin at 2:30 PM IST today. Champions Trophy grand finale is hosted by Dubai International Stadium

The journey nears its end, the tracks running out beneath them. For Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the final stop inches closer, the last echoes of their legendary careers reverberating through the cricketing world. But will this be the last ride, the grand finale of two titans who have carried Indian cricket for over a decade and a half? The answer remains shrouded in uncertainty.

 

If this is indeed their swansong, then the only fitting farewell would be bathed in golden glory. A final flourish, a triumphant exit—an ICC trophy gleaming in their hands, adding another chapter to their storied legacies. 

 

 

For Rohit, the time for small flourishes is over. His penchant for short but sweet 20s and 30s must give way to an innings of substance, a masterpiece that eases the load on an overworked middle order. The potential absence of Matt Henry, the tormentor-in-chief, may provide an opening, but Rohit cannot afford to wait for fortune to favour him—he must seize the moment.

 

Kohli, ever the maestro, has been orchestrating his performances with precision. A century and two half-centuries in his last five innings—a reminder of his past, when he reigned supreme, unchallenged, unstoppable. Now, he must summon that aura once more, for one last assault.

 

A reckoning with destiny

 

To reclaim the Champions Trophy after 12 long years, India must rise above their traditional nemesis—New Zealand. The Kiwis have been their mountain to climb, their inescapable obstacle. The cold, hard facts paint a troubling picture: a 10-6 record in ICC tournaments, a 3-1 advantage in knockout games. This is a cycle India must break. 

 

Adding fuel to the fire, whispers of an unfair advantage have swirled around India’s extended stay in Dubai, a controversy they must silence with performance, not words. They can take solace in their spin quartet, a formidable force that has already demonstrated its mastery over these slow, sluggish surfaces.

 

And so, India is likely to persist with their battle-hardened combination of four spinners and two pacers—an arsenal designed for control, deception, and devastation.

 

The spin web

 

Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav—the right-hand and left-hand illusionists—have weaved webs of mystery, confounding the best with their sorcery. But it is the duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel who have played the role of silent assassins, suffocating batters with relentless precision, forcing them into submission.

 

Should the final be contested on the same pitch that hosted the India-Pakistan clash, then the Kiwis could well find themselves ensnared in this four-pronged trap. Their salvation lies in the hands of two men—Kane Williamson, the eternal anchor, and Rachin Ravindra, the rising star. These two, adept against spin, must hold the line.

 

But the Kiwis have their own weapons. Captain Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell, Glenn Phillips, and Ravindra form a potent spin battery, capable of engineering a collapse. They have done it before—in Tests last year, in white-ball skirmishes. Can they script another chapter of destruction?

 

History suggests they can. A flashback to 2000—the Knockouts tournament in Kenya—reminds us that New Zealand's lone ICC ODI title came at India’s expense. A 25-year-old ghost looms large.

 

The last stand of the titans

 

While the veterans may carry the weight of history, India cannot afford to rely solely on Rohit and Kohli. The next generation must rise.

 

Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Hardik Pandya—their time has come. Gill and Iyer have had their moments, fleeting glimpses of brilliance. Rahul and Pandya have provided crucial late-order fireworks. But now, on the grandest stage, they must unify their efforts into one final, defining act. 

 

The stage is set. The stakes could not be higher. The time for second chances is over.

 

For India, for Rohit and Kohli, for an era—this is the final stand. The last battle. The moment of reckoning.

 

Fairytales belong to these lands. But will this one be written in blue?

 

Squads of India and New Zealand:

 

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy.

 

New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Jacob Duffy.