Virat Kohli opens up on the key factor behind India's 2025 Champions Trophy triumph

Virat Kohli has shed light on how India emerged victorious in the 2025 Champions Trophy. The 36-year-old reckoned that the Men in Blue made the most of the tournament's hybrid model by adapting to the conditions better than the others, with Dubai as their temporary base.

Notably, Rohit Sharma and company beat New Zealand by four wickets in the summit clash to lift back-to-back ICC trophies. Team India had also beaten the Black Caps in the group stage of the 50-over ICC event, with both matches held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

With the 2025 Champions Trophy triumph, India completed a redemption in Dubai. They had crashed out of the group stage during the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE.

Kohli, in particular, delivered in the big games, scoring an unbeaten 100 and 84 against Pakistan and Australia (semifinals), respectively. The former India skipper said in RCB Innovation Lab (via the Press Trust of India on X):

“We as a team adapted to the conditions better than others. Hence, won the Champions Trophy.”

Virat Kohli’s remarks came amid Team India’s criticism of an ‘unfair advantage’ of playing all their games at the same venue throughout the 2025 Champions Trophy. The other seven teams had to travel, with Pakistan being the original hosts of the ICC event.

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“This time, we learned from those experiences” – Virat Kohli on India’s 2025 Champions Trophy win

Virat Kohli further lauded the Men in Blue for learning from their previous mistakes in the 50-over tournaments, including the 2022 T20 World Cup, the 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cup setbacks as well as the first two World Test Championship (WTC) finals. He told official broadcasters JioHotstar (via Deccan Herald):

“It's been a long time since we've had a Champions Trophy, and the format is really good. This was our aim. After a tough tour of Australia, we came here and won a big tournament, which has once again boosted our confidence as a team.”

“Throughout the tournament, different players stepped up in different matches. There were moments in past tournaments where we weren't able to finish games or capitalize on crucial situations. But this time, we learned from those experiences,” he added.

Retained for a whopping INR 21 crore, Virat Kohli will next be in action for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2025. The Bengaluru-based franchise will lock horns with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens on March 22.