India, March 10 -- The 2025 Champions Trophy was Gautam Gambhir's last opportunity to prove his worth, as reports claimed after a rocky start to his tenure as a head coach of the Indian team. A series loss in Sri Lanka, whitewash against New Zealand at home in a Test series and defeat Down Under in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series earlier in January sparked questions on Gambhir's future in the role. But the Indian team answered back in style on Sunday, beating the Kiwis by four wickets in the final to lift the Champions Trophy for an unprecedented third time.

He may not have celebrated like his successor, Rahul Dravid after India's T20 World Cup win last June, but the rare smile was enough to turn heads. It was eventually caught on came...