India vs New Zealand Final: 3 reasons why Team India have a strong chance of defeating New Zealand in the Final
India National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team: New Zealand defeated South Africa in the second semi-final match held on Wednesday and made it to the final of the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025. Now the title match will be played between India and New Zealand (India vs New Zealand Final) on Sunday, March 9 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and the Men in Blue are strong contenders to secure a win in this match.
Let us tell you that here are high chances that Rohit Sharma and team will beat the Kiwis in the final and lift the Champions Trophy for the first time since 2013.
Both teams were the part of the same group i.e Group-A of the eight-team tournament and they clashed versus each other on the 2nd of March at this very stadium of Dubai, in which the Rohit Sharma-led outfit ended up securing the victory. Even before this encounter, both sides had already secured their semi-final berths.
Even if we leave that match aside, there are 3 big reasons, which explain why Team India is a strong contender to lift the title on March 9 and we will be taking a look at them in this article.
The Dubai pitch helps spinners and Team India have a stronger spin bowling unit
The biggest reason for Rohit Sharma and team's victory in the matches played so far in the tournament has been their bowling. Earlier they were playing with 2 fast bowlers but against New Zealand they took the bold decision of fielding foru spinners. In the semi-finals also India defeated Australia with the same playing 11.
New Zealand has a spinner bowler in the form of captain Mitchell Santner. It would not be wrong to consider the duo of Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips as part-timers. The pitches in Dubai have a lot of help for spinners and the 2013 Champions Trophy winners have a strong advantage in this area, which will have a big impact on the result of the match.
The Indians have a better Head-2-Head record versus the Kiwis
India has a good record against New Zealand in ODI cricket. A total of 119 matches have been played so far in between both teams and out of these 119 games, the Men in Blue have finished out on top on 61 occasions while the Black Caps have reigned supreme in 50 matches.
If we look at the last 20 matches played between these two, India has won 12 of these matches while New Zealand has won 6 matches and 2 were inconclusive. The Head-2-Head stats are in favor of the Men in Blue and this is yet another reason why they have a strong chance of winning the Champions Trophy 2025 final.
The Indian Team have more experience of playing in Dubai
Mitchell Santner-led New Zealand won two matches of the group stage in Pakistan, after which they had to come to Dubai to play against India. But, the Indians defeated them in Dubai. After this, the Blackcaps also played the second semi-final in Pakistan & they secured the win against the South Africans.
The Indians, on the other hand, have played all of their Champions Trophy 2025 matches at the Dubai International Stadium since the beginning of the tournament and they haven't lost a single match here at this ground yet. They have an amazing record at this venue and playing here since the commencement of the tournament has helped them get used to the conditions.
The Blackcaps have played just a single match here at this ground which they lost versus the Men in Blue and this was the final Group-A match. The lack of experience might not work in favor of the 2019 World Cup runners-up.
Additional, playing shots on the pitches of Pakistan is easier than Dubai. Of course, Williamson and Rachin Ravindra scored centuries at the Gaddafi Stadium, but a big innings cannot be played with this approach in Dubai.
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