Champions Trophy win cements India's status as cricket's best team, an achievement that is sadly tainted

In the 2023 International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy, India defeated arch-rival Pakistan by a massive seven wickets. Following the match, the comments of then-Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur were quite profound, prompting much reflection.

At the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Pakistan crumbled before a sea of blue. Among the approximately 120,000 spectators, hardly a Pakistani flag could be seen. Analyzing the reasons for his team's defeat, Arthur stated, "Look, it didn't seem like an ICC event, to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event."

Arthur's remarks seem to reflect more than ever the way world cricket operates. After India won the ICC Champions Trophy, the conditions they enjoyed were even more favorable than those of the host country, Pakistan. When it comes to issues involving India, the cricketing world faces a delicate balancing act. As the saying goes, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you," and this proverb is extremely applicable in this situation.

It's no secret that the massive funds India brings to cricket have allowed it to flourish. However, how can this be acknowledged while avoiding the perception that other countries and every series or event exist solely to serve India? The ICC and its Indian chairman, Jay Shah, must find the answer to this question to prevent future global events from seeming as farcical as this year's Champions Trophy.

When India captain Rohit Sharma lifted the Champions Trophy, the only indication that Pakistan was the host of the tournament was the event logo on the two teams' jerseys. The fact that no Pakistani representative was present at the awards ceremony disappointed former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar. He said, "It's beyond my understanding. Think about it, the event is being hosted by us, and no one is there. I was very disheartened to see that."

Even if Pakistan had managed to reach a dream final against India, they would have had to travel to Dubai. The Indian team was stationed in Dubai throughout the event, and they would have had to compete there for the Champions Trophy even though Pakistan was the host. Especially after Pakistan played all nine of their matches at different venues across India during the 2023 World Cup, the word "farcical" may not even be strong enough to describe the situation. If India were hosting the World Cup, would it make similar concessions for any other country?

Most regrettably, the scheduling issues tarnished the victory of a team that is now considered one of the greatest white-ball teams in the history of the sport. India's victory over New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final brought their record in ICC events to 23 wins in the past 24 matches, a brilliant run that encompasses the 2023 50-over World Cup, last year's T20 World Cup, and the Champions Trophy. Their only loss was in the 2023 World Cup final, where they were ambushed by Travis Head.

Head's performance in the 2023 final, which secured an unexpected victory for Australia, remains one of the greatest innings in World Cup history. That's what it takes to beat this Indian team, at least in two white-ball formats. This team can crush you in so many different ways, whether with the bat or with the ball, and the four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final is proof of that.

After winning the toss, New Zealand couldn't have dreamed of a more perfect start. Will Young and Rachin Ravindra quickly took the score to 57 without the loss of any wickets, at a time when some spectators were only just returning from buying pre-match snacks. Seeing another aggressive left-handed batsman, Ravindra, tear apart the Indian attack would have immediately reminded both Indian players and fans of what Head had done in Ahmedabad.

The memories of the 2023 final will linger for India's two left-arm spin bowlers, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. Neither of them took a wicket in the final, and they failed to capitalize on the early advantage provided by their fast bowlers, ultimately allowing Head and Marnus Labuschagne to win the World Cup for Australia. This time, Kuldeep didn't have to wait long to make an impact on the final. His first ball was a beautiful googly that clean bowled Ravindra. Six overs later, Kuldeep bamboozled New Zealand's talisman, Kane Williamson, and India had found a way back into the final.

From then on, India's four-pronged spin attack, consisting of the aforementioned duo plus Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy, slowly strangled New Zealand's explosive middle order like a python. Daryl Mitchell, who has a career strike rate of 95.19, labored to 63 off 101 balls before being caught. Glenn Phillips, who has consistently scored at over a run a ball in his career, managed just 34 off 52 balls.

Michael Bracewell's late cameo took New Zealand's score past 250, but that was still 25 runs short of what they really needed to put the excellent Indian batting lineup under pressure. India's opening partnership of 105 for the first wicket was a testament to how professional New Zealand was as a team, and the match went almost to the very end.

There was a brief lull when India lost 3-17 in eight overs as Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli all fell in a mini-collapse. But ultimately, the best teams in the world have too many weapons. One of the things that makes this Indian team so special is that they have three genuine all-rounders: Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, and Jadeja. This trio not only allows India to field six quality bowlers but also provides batting depth. Most teams have to sacrifice batting depth for bowling depth, or vice versa. India is fortunate enough to have depth in both departments, and both were essential to winning this final.

The Champions Trophy victory is the crowning achievement of India's sustained excellence under Rohit's captaincy. Those on the Indian side of the scheduling debate who argued that the scheduling didn't matter because this team is so good were right, which makes the whole affair even more infuriating. This team is so good that they probably would have won the Champions Trophy even if all the matches had been played in Pakistan. Imagine how epic it would have been if Kohli and his teammates had beaten team after team in the most hostile conditions, ultimately winning the Champions Trophy. Sadly, that didn't happen, and cricket is all the poorer for it.