Dubai [UAE], March 10 (ANI): Following India's win over New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy final, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma hailed wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul for the calm he brings to the side while battling the pressure situations, and said he is very happy with his contributions to the team at number six.

India's domination in ICC events continued as after last year's T20 World Cup win, they secured the ICC Champions Trophy, their third title (including the 2002 edition when they shared with Sri Lanka) and their seventh ICC white-ball title in total.

KL Rahul, who has played at multiple positions in the batting order, was given the responsibility of number six, as the team wanted to put Axar Patel at five, to give extra depth to the side. Rahul played a crucial role in the middle, scoring a valuable 34* in 33 balls in a crunch situation. In five matches and four innings, KL scored 140 runs at an average of 140.00 and a strike rate of 97.90, with the best score of 42*.

Following the match in the post-match presser, Rohit said, 'When we discussed about KL's batting position, that is one thing we discussed quite deeply about how calm he is when he is batting. The pressure does not get to him with that calmness, we wanted that calmness in the middle somewhere. And also, we wanted to use a left-hander in the middle. So that actually worked out in both ways for us.'

'KL obviously has been doing a lot of challenging work for the team for so many years now. And I am very, very happy with how he managed to pull this tournament and batted in the pressure situation, both in the semifinals and this game as well. The contribution may not be 70-80, but those 30-40s are a very, very important one. When you are chasing, run the ball at the back end, it can get tough. It can get difficult. But with KL being there, we know that he has got that mind where he keeps himself calm and keeps the dressing room also very calm, so I am very happy with how he you know managed in this tournament and really happy for you know the contributions that he made for the team,' he added.

Speaking about his own knock of 76 in 83 balls after scoring just 104 runs in the first four matches, Rohit said that he did not do anything different today since he realised that it is important to score runs in the powerplay when the pitch gets slower later and fielders spread across the field when spinners arrive. He also shared that he wanted to bat longer and take the team into a more comfortable position.

'And we are doing second batting. It is already slow. It is very important for you to take chances. And I do not think that I will bat like this, or that I will play like that. I see the bowler and think of where I can charge him, where I can play the shot. I think about all this before I go. And you may not see the consistency of big runs, but if I am very clear in my mind about what I have to do - then as long as I am very clear, I think it is pretty much okay. Today, you saw that after 10 overs, I changed my game a little. I wanted to play longer. But I went to put a bit of pressure and I got out. But again, you feel very happy when you win a match and when you contributed to it - It feels even better,' he added.

Rohit also pointed out that despite contributing so much in the 2019 World Cup and emerging as a leading run-getter with five tons, he could not win. So these 30-40 run knocks in winning causes give more satisfaction and happiness.

'So, I think it was very important for me to do something and contribute and bring the team in a position where there is a little comfort for the rest of the batting order,' he added.

The skipper hailed the 'class' of his opening partner Shubman Gill, and said both the batters like to play their shots.

'He likes to, pierce the ground, pierce the field. And I like to go aerial. So, it actually works both ways and works well for the team as well, which is why there's been a lot of consistency in our partnership. And Gill, to be honest, understands this game really, really well. And he is a very, very good player for us. Over the years, you have seen how consistent he has been. And that is what matters. If you understand your game and you have constant communication in the middle. That is about it,' he added.

Rohit also hailed the team for being able to play finals across all ICC events, the ICC World Test Championship final 2023, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final, ICC T20 World Cup 2024 (win) and ICC Champions Trophy 2025 (win).

'It shows how consistent we are as a team as well. You lose one series here and there, it doesn't mean that the team is bad or things are not happening in the right, things are not going in the right direction. It happens, everybody is allowed to lose. And we lost a series in India against New Zealand, the test series. But that happens. It is like every time we take the field, we are meant to win everything. But that is not going to happen. This is a sport that we play. There are opposition who are also trying their best to beat us,' he said.

'And you have got to give credit to the opposition as well when they play good cricket, not just look at the faults that we have. Sometimes, you get beaten. Sometimes, you get outclassed by the opposition. And we got outclassed by the opposition in Australia and New Zealand. But that does not mean this team is bad. The last three-four years will show the kind of consistency this team has had,' he added.

Rohit dedicated the title win to the entire country, saying, 'I know how much our country was behind us. The trophy is for the whole country. When you win the finals of any tournament, especially India, We know that wherever we play, we get good support. So, winning a trophy like this makes the whole team so happy that we have done something for the country. And we will keep doing it when we get the chance. Whenever we play, any tournament, any match, our effort is to win the match. But how we win it, that depends on the planning. But again, this trophy that we won, it is for the whole country.'

New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first.

Kiwis got off to a fine start with a 57-run stand between Will Young (15) and Rachin Ravindra (37 in 29 balls, with four boundaries and a six). However, Kuldeep Yadav (2/40) applied some breaks and reduced NZ to 75/3.

A 57-run stand between Daryl Mitchell (63 in 101 balls, with three fours) and Michael Bracewell pushed Kiwis towards 150-plus runs. Bracewell played a fine hand of 53* in 40 balls, with three fours and two sixes, taking NZ to 251/7 in their 50 overs.

Kuldeep (2/40) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/45) were the top wicket-takers for India. Mohammed Shami also took a wicket, but conceded 74 runs in his nine overs.

During the run-chase, India had a fine 105-run stand to start off things, between skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill (31 in 50 balls, with a six). While Gill, Virat and eventually Rohit (76 in 83 balls, with seven fours and three sixes) lost their wickets quickly, leaving India at 122/3, Shreyas Iyer (48 in 62 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Axar Patel (29 in 40 balls, with a four and six) stitched a 61-run stand. After India lost Axar following crossing of 200-run mark, KL Rahul (34* in 33 balls, with a four and a six) and Hardik Pandya (18) did their job of taking India to the finishing line with six wickets and an over left.

Michael Bracewell (2/28) and Mitchell Santner (2/46) were the top wicket-takers for NZ. (ANI)