IND vs NZ Preview: India, New Zealand battle for supremacy in the Champions Trophy finale

The Dubai International Stadium will be packed on Sunday, March 9, when India takes on New Zealand in the summit clash of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

After two weeks and 14 fixtures, these two sides are ready to be crowned the new champions. India, who lost the 2017 final to Pakistan, will be looking forward to ending their eight-year wait for a Champions Trophy win.

This final is also a nostalgic rematch of the 2000 edition, where the Kiwis lifted their maiden ICC title after defeating the Men in Blue by four wickets in Nairobi. While India went on to win the tournament in 2002 (shared) and 2013, this is New Zealand’s first appearance in the final since their historic victory.

India, the only unbeaten team in the competition, have been consistent in all the departments. After topping Group A with three consecutive wins, they defeated Australia by four wickets in the semifinal courtesy of a batting brilliance from Virat Kohli.

On the other hand, the Mitchell Santner-led team has been clinical throughout the tournament, securing wins over Bangladesh and Pakistan in the group stage. Although they lost to India at this very venue, they bounced back with a comfortable 50-run win against South Africa in the semifinal at Lahore.

India should be careful while facing the Black Caps, as with a strong spin department led by Santner and supported by Michael Bracewell, Glenn Phillips, and Rachin Ravindra, the side has the variety to challenge India’s batting.

In their earlier group match, India handled the spin well, but New Zealand will return better prepared. The same pitch used in India’s game against Pakistan will see Kiwi spinners play a key role.

Meanwhile, New Zealand, they too have to see how they tackle India’s dominance and have excelled in all the departments.

Pitch Report

The track at Dubai International Stadium has been challenging for batters, but conditions improve in the second innings. The average runs per wicket rise from 25 to 29, favouring chasing teams. Recently, spinners have been brilliant at this venue, with Indian spinners grabbing 21 wickets in four games and Kiwi spinners claiming 17 overall and two wickets against India in the league stage. Despite this, the surface is excellent for run-scoring. The pitch is expected to be hard and flat.

Probable Playing XIs:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy

New Zealand: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, William ORourke