Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli during a practice session ahead of a One Day International (ODI) cricket match of the ICC Champions Trophy between India and New Zealand, at ICC Academy Ground No 2 , in Dubai, UAE, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Champions Trophy format is designed to ensure that every game is important, and even a single loss in a three-match league stage can potentially mean a first-round exit. By having only the top eight nations, the expectation is that teams will be evenly matched. While this is the ideal scenario, it seldom happens, and the story of the 2025 edition is no different so far.
India and New Zealand, having already booked their semifinal berths early last week, will play in the final league encounter (Group A) on Sunday (March 2, 2025) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in what is essentially a dead rubber. Both sides have been clinical in their respective wins over Pakistan and Bangladesh to reach the knockout.
The Men in Blue’s success has been built around its three-pronged spin attack, which has restricted the opposition to modest totals that have been easily chased down. It did not help that Bangladesh and Pakistan had only one front-line spinner, who the Indian batters were happy to see off and score off the others.
The think-tank will be happy that key batters like Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, who could play his 300th ODI, have scored centuries in the first two outings respectively. Shreyas Iyer and K.L. Rahul, too, have scored runs in crucial situations.
However, Rohit Sharma’s men will face a more formidable challenge against New Zealand, considering the latter’s squad depth in all departments.
The 0-3 Test series loss last year will be fresh in India’s minds, and the Black Caps’ batting lineup is largely similar to the one that was part of the historic triumph. The Kiwi batters have shown they can play on tweaker-friendly surfaces and have an equal mix of left- and right-handed options in the top eight. Daryl Mitchell, who missed the last game against Bangladesh due to illness, has recovered and is available.
Apart from having a solid pace battery, New Zealand also have a more penetrative spin attack led by skipper Mitchell Santner and off-spinners Michael Bracewell and Glenn Phillips. India’s batters struggled in the three-match series in Sri Lanka last year on spin-friendly pitches and could face their first stern test of the competition. The surface for this contest is likely to be similar to the first two India matches and was used on a few occasions during the ILT20.
The big talking point in the build-up to this tie is whether the teams will look to rest a few players with the short turnaround time before the semifinals scheduled on March 4 (for India) and March 5 (for New Zealand).
Against Pakistan, pace spearhead Mohammed Shami walked off the field clutching his shin for a few overs before returning to bowl again. The team could be tempted to bring left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh for the former if it wants to take a cautious approach ahead of the semifinal. Similarly, Rohit had a hamstring issue in the previous game, though the skipper appeared fine and batted for nearly an hour in the nets on Friday.
Though the stakes are not high for this match, the two outfits will want to keep the momentum going and top the group. There is also a chance to gain an edge over the other if they happen to meet in the final here next week.
Teams
India: Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Shubman Gill (vice-capt.), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, K.L, Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (Capt.), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Kyle Jamieson.
Match officials: On-field umpires: Michael Gough and Richard Illingworth; TV umpire: Adrian Holdstock; Fourth umpire: Paul Reiffel; Referee: David Boon.
Match starts at 2.30 p.m.(IST)
Published – March 01, 2025 06:44 pm IST
