The final match between India and New Zealand in the Champions Trophy 2025 is highly anticipated. India has reached the final without losing any matches, while New Zealand has only lost one, which was against India in the group stage. This Champions Trophy final marks India’s third consecutive appearance in the final of an ICC limited overs tournament, following the 2023 ODI World Cup final and the 2024 T20 World Cup final.
Leading up to the India vs New Zealand Champions Trophy 2025 final, there has been discussion about whether the Indian team, led by Rohit Sharma, is receiving unfair advantages. This is because India played all of its matches in Dubai. This decision was made beforehand by the BCCI, as they preferred not to send the team to Pakistan, the original hosts of the Champions Trophy 2025. While other teams had to travel to different locations, India played all five of their matches in Dubai.
Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has criticized those who are talking about ‘venue advantage’.
“I find it funny when people ask our captain and coaches in press conferences about ‘home advantage’. In the 2009 Champions Trophy, South Africa played all their matches at one venue and didn’t even make it to the final. It’s not South Africa’s fault they didn’t qualify. We should accept that India has played excellent cricket and reached the final because of their strong performance. The last time India played in Dubai was during the COVID period. Since then, New Zealand, England, and South Africa have also played in Dubai,” Ravichandran Ashwin stated on his YouTube channel.
“This idea that a team comes to India, loses 4-0, and then blames the pitch is wrong. Please don’t try to bring our players down with such talk. I’m also concerned when Indian people start believing this narrative. I still feel nervous about the final. After New Zealand beat South Africa, I’m worried they might defeat us again.”
The fact that teams have to adjust to different playing conditions has caused some debate in cricket, with former cricketers like Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton suggesting that the schedule benefits India. They argue this is because India has less travel, plays at a single venue where they are familiar with the conditions, and chose their team with Dubai in mind.
Speaking about the match situation, New Zealand’s coach Stead mentioned, “Traveling here after playing in Lahore, with a full day of travel yesterday, does take a bit out of you. However, we now have a couple of days to recover, plan, and train for the game. At this stage of the tournament, it’s not always about intense training. It’s more about getting your body and mind ready to compete in the final, and that’s what we’ll focus on over the next two days.”
