IND vs NZ, Champions Trophy 2025 Final Preview: India’s Spin Challenges New Zealand’s Resistance in Dubai

Add as a preferred source on Google

25 years on from their previous limited overs ICC title clash, India and New Zealand will battle for Champions Trophy glory in front of a sold-out crowd at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Sunday (March 9).

The Men in Blue sealed their fourth successive ICC event final after an impressive 4-wicket win over Australia in the semi-final, while the Black Caps reached the summit clash after seeing off South Africa by 50 runs in the last four. Now, India and New Zealand are set for a rematch of sorts.

The two sides last met in a Champions Trophy (earlier known as ICC KnockOuts) final at Nairobi in the 2000 final when Chris Cairns hammered an unbeaten century to chase India's modest 265-run target and lift the coveted accolade.

Since that meeting, a lot has changed in how both sides have performed at the Champions Trophy tournaments. India shared the title with Sri Lanka in 2002 and 11 years later secured the title under Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2013. India also won the T20 World Cup twice and ODI World Cup once in that period.

Meanwhile, the Black Caps have been up there challenging in white ball formats ICC events, but returned empty-handed on every occasion. While the Kiwis ended their ICC trophy drought with the World Test Championship triumph in 2021, they now stand just one victory away from another ICC title.

New Zealand's advantage in ICC tournaments and knockout matches

The Men in Blue, though, have always found the resilient Kiwis a tall mountain to surmount. The Kiwis got the better of India in the inaugural WTC final, taking their overall record to a 10-6 lead against their Asian rivals across all the ICC tournaments.

Further drilled down, New Zealand have a 3-1 edge over India in the ICC knockout matches. That record looks concerning, but India have beaten New Zealand in their most recent ICC knockout match, and also take confidence from, having beaten the Kiwis last week.

India's spin likey to test New Zealand again

Rohit Sharma's side will head into the contest on the back of a 44-run victory against the Black Caps, courtesy the spin quartet led by Varun Chakravarthy, who finished with a fifer on a sluggish Dubai deck.

The seasoned mystery spinner was introduced in the tournament in the final group stage game against the Kiwis. He broke the backbone of New Zealand's 250-run chase and returned with match-winning figures of 5/42.

Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, the right-hand and left-hand wrist-spinners, have bamboozled the opponents like illusionists, but Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, the all-rounders, have kept the things quiet and go through their overs quickly before the opponents realise it's too late.

In all probability, India will retain the four spinners and two pacers combination for the championship match. If the final is indeed going to be played on the surface that is used for the game between India and Pakistan, then those four bowlers can put New Zealand in a spin.

How New Zealand may cope against spin?

The Kiwis will bank on Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra, the most capable batters against slow bowlers in their line-up, to once again deliver, while they will also be confident with their own set of spinners - skipper Mitchel Santner, Michael Bracewell, Ravindra and Glenn Phillips, who can also be a threat if there is a lot to offer for spin.

While spin is expected to be on show in both teams, seasoned pacers Mohammed Shami and Matt Henry will look to go about their jobs with the new ball. The Black Caps, however, head into the contest with concern surrounding the availability of Henry, who injured his shoulder in the semi-final.

Henry aside New Zealand pacers - Kyle Jamieson and Will O'Rourke have not been that impressive. So, the Kiwis will be hoping their most consistent and reliable pacer in Henry is available for the crucial title clash.

To challenge the Kiwi bowlers, all eyes will turn to Indian stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who will look to add another ICC trophy to their cabinet after winning the last year's T20 World Cup.

Plus, there is also chatter that this could be Rohit's last appearance in an Indian jersey. It could also be one of the final few appearances of Kohli, who also had an injury scare on the eve of the Champions Trophy 2025 final.

When Rohit and Kohli have failed to fire, the likes of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer have stepped up, adding more steel to the Indian batting. KL Rahul, Axar, Hardik Pandya and Jadeja too have contributed when needed. So, the batting is stacked to take on any challenge.

New Zealand too have great depth in batting with the likes of Will Young, Tom Latham and Phillips also adding important runs, but the Black Caps batters have showed signs of struggle against spin. Daryl Mitchell, who has a reputation of playing spin well, has not made a telling contribution so far.

All in all, a tough battle is on the cards in Dubai on Sunday (March 9) with India likely taking the psychological advantage of beating New Zealand only last week, and playing at a venue, where they remain undefeated.

India vs New Zealand Champions Trophy 2025 Final Squads

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.

New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (captain), 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.

IND vs NZ Champions Trophy 2025 Final Details

• Match Start Time: 2:30 PM IST
• Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium
• Telecast: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports First, Sports 18-1, Sports 18-3
• Live Streaming: JioHotstar