A tense final that almost went to the wire before India ensured victory, its third ICC Champions trophy triumph. That just six balls remained made it look that close but the packed stadium in Dubai knew that victory for India was almost assured and when Ravindra Jadeja struck a boundary, all was over barring the celebrations and fireworks. It was an unprecedented night in the Gulf country as so many questions on Indian cricket had been answered with that grand win.

Indeed, as the contest went about it would have been difficult for the Indian players not to remember that horrendous night in Ahmedabad in 2023. The occasion was the ICC ODI world cup final, and Australia was the opponent. Like in Dubai, India had breezed through to the final on an unbeaten note. Most of the players who featured in Dubai were there in that Rohit Sharma led team, which had looked in every aspect a winner. A full house in the Narendra Modi stadium, the world’s largest cricket facility had looked forward to a glorious finish for the home team. But in a low scoring final, India could only raise a humble target which Australia scaled with ease to stun and silence the home crowd.

Those dark memories were neatly brushed aside in Dubai but again it was another low scoring final! India has........

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