Cricket moves fast. Too fast sometimes. If you blinked during February and March of 2025, you basically missed one of the most chaotic, politically charged, and statistically ridiculous tournaments in the history of the sport. We are talking about the ninth edition of the Champions Trophy. It was a tournament that almost didn't happen—at least not in the way it was originally planned.
India won. Again.
By beating New Zealand in the final at Dubai on March 9, 2025, India didn't just grab a trophy; they became the most successful team in the history of this "Mini World Cup" with three titles (2002, 2013, 2025). But the icc champions trophy highlights from this most recent edition tell a story of a tournament split between two worlds, literally.
The Hybrid Drama You Might Have Forgotten
Remember the mess before the first ball was even bowled? Pakistan was the sole host on paper. It was their first global event since 1996. Then reality hit. The BCCI basically said, "We aren't crossing the border." This led to the "Hybrid Model" where the UAE stepped in to save the day.
Every single match involving India—including the high-voltage clash against Pakistan, the semi-final, and eventually the final—happened in Dubai.
Imagine being a fan in Lahore or Karachi. You get the tournament, but you don't get the biggest team on the planet. It was a weird vibe, honestly. But once the games started, the quality of cricket took over the headlines.
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Moments That Defined the 2025 Edition
If we are looking at the icc champions trophy highlights from a purely cricketing lens, the 2025 tournament was dominated by bats that felt more like cannons. For years, Nathan Astle’s 145* from back in 2004 was the gold standard for individual scores in this tournament.
That record didn't just break; it was obliterated.
- Ibrahim Zadran’s Masterclass: Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran smashed 177 against England in Lahore. It was an innings of pure timing and brutal power.
- Ben Duckett’s Brief Record: Just days before Zadran's feat, England’s Ben Duckett had set the record himself with 165 against Australia. He barely had time to celebrate before being overtaken.
- The New Zealand Engine: Rachin Ravindra ended up as the Player of the Tournament. He scored 263 runs in just four matches. The guy is basically a run-vacuum at this point.
Why the Final Was a Heartbreaker for the Black Caps
New Zealand in ICC finals is a recurring tragedy. They put up 251/7 on a Dubai pitch that was slightly sluggish. It looked defendable. For about thirty minutes, it felt defendable.
But India has this habit of finding heroes in the middle order. Rohit Sharma won Player of the Match in the final, but it was the collective composure of the squad that did it. They chased it down with 4 wickets and an over to spare.
Shreyas Iyer deserves a shoutout here too. He finished as India’s top scorer with 243 runs across five matches. He later admitted he actually cried after the first practice session because the pressure was so immense.
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All-Time Records: The "Old Guard" Still Holds On
While 2025 was flashy, the history books still respect the legends. You can't talk about icc champions trophy highlights without mentioning the guys who built this tournament’s reputation.
Chris Gayle still sits at the top of the mountain for all-time runs. He’s got 791 of them. Even with the scoring rates of 2025, nobody quite caught the Universe Boss. On the bowling side, New Zealand’s Kyle Mills remains the king with 28 career wickets in the tournament.
It’s interesting, right? We see these massive 350+ scores in Lahore (New Zealand put up 362/6 against South Africa in the semi-final), but the career longevity records are still held by players from the 2000s and early 2010s.
The Unsung Hero: Varun Chakravarthy
While everyone was watching the batters, Varun Chakravarthy was quietly dismantling lineups. In the match against New Zealand during the group stages, he took 5/42.
He finished the tournament with 9 wickets in only three matches. That is an absurd strike rate. In a tournament where the average score was hovering around 300, having a mystery spinner who can actually take wickets in the middle overs was the real "cheat code" for India.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the History
People often forget that this tournament started as the "ICC KnockOut" in 1998. It was meant to be a way to grow the game in places like Bangladesh and Kenya. South Africa won the first one.
Since then, it’s transformed into a sprint. Unlike the 50-over World Cup which feels like a marathon that lasts two months, the Champions Trophy is over in three weeks.
That's why the icc champions trophy highlights are usually more intense. There's no room to "find your form." If you lose your first two games, you’re basically booking your flight home. Ask England—they went 0 for 3 in Group B in 2025 and were out before the local fans even finished their first batch of samosas.
Actionable Insights for Cricket Fans
If you're looking back at the highlights or preparing for the next cycle in 2029 (which India is set to host alone), keep these things in mind:
- Watch the Toss in UAE: In the 2025 highlights, you'll notice that chasing in Dubai remained significantly easier than setting a total. The dew factor hasn't gone away.
- Middle-Overs Aggression: The teams that succeeded—India, New Zealand, and South Africa—didn't just "consolidate" between overs 15 and 40. They kept the pedal down.
- Hybrid Models are the Future: Like it or not, the success of the 2025 tournament (which broke viewership records with 368 billion global viewing minutes) suggests that the ICC will keep using neutral venues to solve political deadlocks.
The 2025 Champions Trophy proved that ODI cricket isn't dead; it just needed a bit of drama and some flat pitches to remind everyone why we fell in love with it in the first place.