And just one more match to go. Rohit Sharma‘s team has been clinical so far, and has reached the final of the Champions Trophy, for the third successive time. After losing out to Pakistan in 2017, they have an excellent chance to lift the trophy. More so, because this bunch has already tasted blood; when they won the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Now, as usual, one of the key discussions before the India vs New Zealand final is – what should be the team combination for the final? There is no news of any injury, no real form concern regarding any of the players.. so would Rohit Sharma really go ahead, tinker with the winning combination in the all important final? The answer would be a no, team will go with four spinners again, on a pitch that will be conducive for bowling.
NZ Can’t Get Past Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav & Varun Chakravarthy
One must admit, the Indian spinners have been excellent so far in the CT 2025. Yes, the conditions have been helpful, but then none of the other team’s spinners extracted that much purchase. Varun Chakravarthy has seven wickets in two matches, at a strike-rate of 17.14. Axar Patel has 5 in 4 matches, with an economy rate of 4.55, same for Kuldeep Yadav, and Jadeja has 4 wickets in as many matches.
In the league match vs New Zealand a few days back, these four spinners, combined picked up 9/166. So that just goes on to show their effectiveness in Dubai. There is no reason to change them.
Mohammed Shami & Hardik Pandya Enough
Even though Mohammed Shami has bagged a fifer in this edition of the Champions Trophy, yet spinners have been more effective. But just to fill in the two pacer spots — him and Hardik Pandya, more than do the job for the team. There would have been temptation to go with Arshdeep Singh at some stage, but final is certainly not the match for any experiment.
Batting Settled, No Issues Till Now
If Rohit Sharma does not do the job with the bat, then Shubman Gill does. If not him, then Virat Kohli steps up. If he too fails, Shreyas Iyer is as consistent as ever. Then there is KL Rahul coming in at No. 6 that can be a nightmare for the teams. Axar has been in excellent batting for too. There is Hardik and Jadeja too. Rest assured, a couple of these guys will fire for sure, with the bat.
Kohli has 217 runs in 4 matches, including a hundred. Iyer has 195 runs to his name, while Gill has scored 157. So, this batting line up is bound to succeed in the toughest of conditions. Once again, unfortunately, there will be no space for Rishabh Pant, who has been warming the bench since the start of the tournament.
India Predicted XI vs New Zealand, Champions Trophy Final
- Rohit Sharma (C)
- Shubman Gill (VC)
- Virat Kohli
- Shreyas Iyer
- Axar Patel
- KL Rahul (WK)
- Hardik Pandya
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mohammed Shami
- Varun Chakaravarthy
