Indian cricketing legend Virat Kohli was overjoyed after India's ICC Champions Trophy victory against New Zealand, not only for winning the coveted title but also for the immense depth and talent in the team. Kohli was optimistic that this Indian team is set to rule world cricket for the next eight years.
India's 252 chase was spearheaded by skipper Rohit Sharma's impressive 76, which laid the platform for the win. Shreyas Iyer's 48 and KL Rahul's unbeaten 34 finished off the task, with valuable cameos by Axar Patel (29) and Hardik Pandya (18) assisting the team home in a last-over thriller.
Discussing the victory, Kohli expressed his thrill, "It's been great, we wanted to come back after a difficult Australian tour, and wanted to win a big tournament, so to win the Champions Trophy is wonderful. So much talent in the dressing room, they're trying to push their game ahead and we're just glad to be of assistance (role of the seniors), imparting our experience and that makes this Indian team so powerful.
Highlighting the need to step up in pressure moments, he said, "These are the things you want to play (for titles), playing under pressure and raising your hand. The entire team, everyone has raised their hands sometimes or other (throughout the tournament), everyone has raised crucial performances, we've been part of a fantastic team, the amount of work we've done in the practice sessions, it feels fantastic (to win)."
Kohli, a backbone of Indian cricket, feels this team is set for long-term success. "When you finish, you'd like to put the team in a better situation, I believe we've got a team which is ready to conquer the globe for the next 8 years. Shubman has performed wonderfully, Shreyas played some excellent knocks, KL won games and Hardik has batted beautifully," he said.
The 36-year-old also praised New Zealand's toughness and competitiveness, commending their capacity to consistently test the world's best sides even with less talent.
"Fantastic (of the New Zealand team), we've always been impressed with what they are able to do, the narrow number of players within the talent pool, but they just go and execute strategies so well, they continue playing the type of cricket that leaves them very much involved in the contest. They've always played aggressively and have been supportive of the bowlers," he observed.
Praising their efforts in the field, he said, "Credit to them, by far the best fielding unit, unfortunate to see a very good friend of mine to be on the losing side (on Kane Williamson), but they're always so good and they keep doing the basics well. That's what makes them such a competitive unit."
With this latest victory, India has now won the Champions Trophy for the third time, establishing itself as the most successful team in Champions Trophy history since the competition was reduced to eight teams.
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