Follow UsTop-ranked One-Day International (ODI) batter Shubman Gill hopes that he can draw from the experience of the loss India suffered at the World Cup final in 2023 to beat New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final against New Zealand on March 9 (Sunday) in Dubai.
“Obviously, some nerves in that match,” he said, ahead of the Champions Trophy final.
"[I learned] a lot of things. It was my first ICC Final … I was very excited.”
Although Gill's was just a seven-ball stay at the crease, he felt he was losing time to stamp his authority on the game, something that he does not want to do when he once again opens the batting with his skipper Rohit Sharma. “[It felt like] I was losing time to dominate in that game,” he continued.
“I think in big ICC knockout matches, you can give yourself a little bit more time than you think.
“We lost [the World Cup Final] in ‘23 and then won in the T20 World Cup [in 2024]. So I think we have got good momentum going with us in this tournament. It's going to be a really exciting game for us, and definitely, if we are able to win this one, I think it would be a great way to end this format this year.
“It’s a very big opportunity for us and in general, in any ICC tournament or any ICC event that happens, we have a lot of responsibility, a lot of pressure from our fans. And the last two ICC tournaments that we have played, we went on to [make the Final].”
India have a chance to make amends for their 2023 World Cup final loss as they look to claim their third Champions Trophy title.