DUBAI: New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips on Saturday said his team’s recent victories more than past records gave them confidence in their final group game against India in the Champions Trophy.
Both teams are already into the semi-finals of the 50-over event and Sunday’s clash will determine who tops Group ‘A’.
The prize is a semi-final against Australia, who finished second to South Africa in Group ‘B’.
New Zealand registered a surprise 3-0 Test whitewash in India in October-November last year.
The Black Caps have been in top form ever since and recently won a tri-nation tournament in Pakistan with an unbeaten run against the hosts and third team South Africa.
New Zealand, led by Mitchell Santner, hold a clear advantage over India at white-ball global tournaments with nine wins, five losses and one no-result.
“Obviously, India are strong and we’re coming off some good form at the moment,” Phillips, a middle-order batsman and an off-spinner, told reporters.
“So I think the recent form is potentially a little bit more of a confidence builder as opposed to what happened a couple of months ago. But we’ve trained hard, we’ve worked well and everyone’s about as ready as they can be.”
The conditions in the three venues in Pakistan — Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi — have been drastically different to those at the Dubai International Stadium.
While the matches in Pakistan have been high-scoring, the totals have not exceeded 244 in Dubai, but Phillips is not too worried.
“I think the beauty of Pakistan is [that] every pitch we’ve played on has been significantly different to the last,” said Phillips.
“And I think that’s been a great preparation for us coming over to Dubai. Knowing that the pitch is going to be different again.
“So I think we pride ourselves on trying to be as adaptable as possible. It doesn’t necessarily mean everything is foolproof and that we’re always going to come out on top. But I feel like we’ve got a lot of bases covered.”
Irrespective of the placing and opponent, India will play the first semi-final in Dubai on March 4 after they refused to go to Pakistan for political reasons.
New Zealand will fly to Lahore for the second semi-final scheduled for March 5.
Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium will also host the final on March 9 unless India go the distance. Then it will be in Dubai.
According to reports, both Australia and South Africa will travel to Dubai ahead of the India-New Zealand match because there is just a one-day gap between the final group fixture and the first semi-final.
While India have played all their matches at one venue, the other teams have shuttled between cities in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
Phillips said his team were not thinking about whether India had an advantage.
“No, for us there’s no focus on anything like that,” he said.
“We have a no-excuses mindset to be able to come out to a tournament, you’re dealt the hand that you’re dealt. We’re never going to complain about what we get and we’ll just do the best of what we’ve got.”
Earlier on Saturday, New Zealand batsman Daryl Mitchell declared himself fit to face India in after missing the win over Bangladesh on Monday because of illness.
“Obviously disappointing to miss the last game with being a bit crook,” Mitchell said. “It’s nice to be back with the group now and get out of the hotel room and to be involved in training and looking forward to the next match.
On Friday, India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said captain Rohit Sharma is fine after picking up a hamstring injury during last Sunday’s group match win over Pakistan.
Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2025