Sunil Gavaskar was very happy with India’s undefeated path to Champions Trophy victory and is jubilant dance as he observed Rohit Sharma and Co. raising the flatware showed just how much he enjoyed the show.
Considered by many to be among the best batsmen to have played the game, Gavaskar was on the commentary team for the ICC event that came after a nearly eight-year break.
A video of the 75-year-old’s childlike dance went viral on social media; his delight as he observed the Indian team hoisting the silver on Sunday night at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium was clear.
In a hard final, India beat New Zealand to win the third trophy in their history.
After New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and chose to bat first, Rohit lost a record-equalling 12th toss in a row in ODIs.
Before Varun Chakaravarthy bowled Will Young LBW in the eight over, Rachin Ravindra led a bright start for New Zealand. With experienced campaigner Kane Williamson (11) also falling, New Zealand appeared to be in difficulty by the end of the 13th over, along with Ravindra (37).
Daryl Mitchell hit a nice half-century before a late push from Michael Bracewell, who slammed a fast fifty to pull the Kiwis to a fighting 251/7 in 50 overs.
Rohit led New Zealand’s hopes to almost an early start. With a 83-ball 76, the veteran stepped up in the final after putting up a series of subpar scores in India’s undefeated run to the final including seven four and three sixes.
Still, the chase was not free from bumps since New Zealand kept pushing but Shreyas Iyer (48), Axar Patel (29), KL Rahul (34*), and Hardik Pandya (19) saw the chase done with an over and four wickets to remain.
