New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat first as they face unbeaten India in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai today (Sunday).
India, who refused to play in host nation Pakistan, have produced clinical performances to win all four of their matches in the United Arab Emirates, including a 44-run group-stage victory over the Black Caps last weekend — although both teams had already reached the semi-finals by then.
India are heavy favourites to claim a record third Champions Trophy but Rohit Sharma’s men face a New Zealand side with plenty of firepower in the first major white-ball final between the teams in a quarter of a century.
The Men in Blue are on the verge of winning back-to-back International Cricket Council (ICC) trophies following last year’s T20 World Cup triumph but they have always found the resilient Kiwis a tall mountain to surmount.
New Zealand hold a 10-6 lead over their Asian rivals across all the ICC tournaments and if curated further, they have a 3-1 edge over India in the knockout matches.
India have played all their matches in Dubai after they refused to tour hosts Pakistan.
The pitches have been vastly different in the two countries.
Pakistan tracks produced big totals, in contrast to the slow and turning decks of the Dubai stadium.
“I think we have to kind of go in with an open mind of how the pitch will play, and then adjust accordingly,” New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner told reporters yesterday.
He could not confirm yesterday that pace spearhead Matt Henry would be available for today’s final but was confident they can tame Chakravarthy.
Despite their flawless displays in Dubai, India will not take anything for granted against New Zealand, who beat them by four wickets in the final of the 2000 event when it was named the ICC KnockOut Trophy.
Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, the right-hand and left-hand wrist-spinners, have bamboozled the opponents with Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel tying down the batters in a matrix of accuracy and boredom.
New Zealand’s biggest hopes of countering them will be Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra, the most competent batters against slow bowlers in their line-up.
New Zealand’s capable spin unit comprising captain Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell, Glenn Phillips and Ravindra can cause plenty of problems for India, who will aim to move ahead of Australia in the Champions Trophy winners list. Australia won the event in 2006 and 2009.
New Zealand beat India 3-0 in a Test series in their own backyard, a feat never registered before. India went on to lose in Australia. Both series defeats cost India a spot in the World Test Championship final.
Nearly 25 years ago, Chris Cairns’ well-timed century in Nairobi powered New Zealand past India to win the Knock Out Trophy, which remains the only limited-overs ICC trophy in New Zealand’s cabinet.
The Black Caps did add another in 2021 — beating India in the World Test Championship final at Southampton. In between, India were stopped in their tracks at the semi-final stage of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, losing a two-day rain-affected semifinal to New Zealand at Manchester.
Teams
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Jacob Duffy.
More to follow