Ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy final 2025 against New Zealand in Dubai, Sourav Ganguly, former India captain and President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), shared his confidence in the team. Ganguly believes that if India performs to their potential in the final, they are highly likely to secure the title on Sunday. The final match will see India, who remain undefeated in the tournament, facing New Zealand on March 9 at the Dubai International Stadium. New Zealand has also demonstrated strong form in both batting and bowling under the leadership of Mitchell Santner.
This upcoming match is highly anticipated as a significant rematch following the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy final where New Zealand emerged victorious. Additionally, India aims to avenge their previous defeats to New Zealand in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup semifinal and the 2021 ICC World Test Championship final.
“Best wishes to team India. They are a strong team, and we are hopeful for their success. If they play to their capabilities, victory is within reach,” Ganguly stated in an interview with ANI.
In their recent encounter last week, India defeated New Zealand by 44 runs. India scored 249 runs in their 50 overs, subsequently bowling out New Zealand for 205 in the 46th over. While there has been considerable attention on the effectiveness of spin bowlers in the UAE conditions, it was New Zealand’s Matt Henry who shone with the ball, taking 5 wickets for 42 runs in eight overs. For India, Shreyas Iyer was the top scorer, contributing 79 runs off 98 balls.
Kane Williamson put up a strong fight for New Zealand, scoring 81 runs from 120 balls, but lacked substantial support from the middle order. Indian spin bowlers collectively took nine wickets, with Varun Chakaravarthy, often referred to as a ‘secret weapon’, leading the attack with 5 wickets for 42 runs. This performance was notable as it came in only the 33-year-old leg-spinner’s second One Day International.
Squads:
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh.
New Zealand Squad: Will Young, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, William O’Rourke, Daryl Mitchell, Nathan Smith, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy.
