Kolkata, March 10 Former India pacer Laxmi Ratan Shukla heaped praise on Rohit Sharma's leadership skills and his batting after Men in Blue beat New Zealand by four wickets in the final to lift their third Champions Trophy title on Sunday.
Chasing 252, Rohit scored 76 laced with seven fours and three sixes to set the foundation for the chase as Shreyas Iyer (48), Axar Patel (29), Hardik Pandya (18) and KL Rahul (34 not out) also contributed with the bat to take the side over the line in Dubai. It was Rohit's first 30-plus score in the tournament as the opener failed to convert a good start in the last four matches in Dubai.
"It was a fantastic win. We were all talking about Rohit Sharma's form not being great. I knew his form was good but he was getting out early. Yesterday he played cautiously and won the trophy for India. Virat Kohli got out early and after his dismissal team's balance got uneven but Indian batters played well to claim the trophy," Shukla told IANS on Monday.
Under Rohit's captaincy, India lifted their second ICC silverware in less than nine months after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup against South Africa in Bridgetown.
It was also India's fourth consecutive ICC final in less than two years - the World Test Championship (WTC) in 2023, the ODI World Cup in 2023, T20 World Cup in 2024 and the Champions Trophy in 2025. Rohit became the first captain in international cricket to lead his team in the final of all four major ICC events.
The Rohit Sharma-led India won the 2024 T20 World Cup last year to end a more-than-decade-long ICC title drought stretching to the Champions Trophy win under MS Dhoni's leadership in 2013.
"All the criticism after the loss against New Zealand and Australia in Tests will be gone with this win. Rohit Sharma did a marvellous job in captaincy and with his batting. Virat Kohli, who was out of form, chased well against Pakistan and Australia and overall it was a fantastic team effort," Shukla added.
The veteran pacer, who played three ODIs for India in 1999, also lauded India head coach Gautam Gambhir's tactical brilliance of including mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy in India's squad ahead of the tournament.
"Gautam Gambhir picked Varun Chakaravarthy cleverly in the team for the slow wickets of Dubai. In fact, the pre-tournament planning was also very solid. It was a well-thought-out strategy to bring the balance to the side. Shami's comeback, Chakaravarthy's bowling and Kuldeep's bowling in the final were all part of it," Shukla said.
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