India vs New Zealand – ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Final
At last, The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 has come to its closing event. India and New Zealand played victorious innings in their semi-final matches. These wins have set the stage for Boom Boom final on March 9 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Semi-Finals Overview
Let’s have a quick look over their semi-final matches.
1st Semi-Final: India vs Australia
In the first semi-final held in Dubai, India faced Australia in a high-stakes match. Australia batted first and reached a total of 264 runs. Steve Smith led the Australian innings with a remarkable 73 runs. Alex Carey contributed 61 runs. However, India’s bowlers managed to contain the Australian batting lineup. So India prevented AUS from setting a hard target.
Chasing 264 target, India showed resilience and determination. Virat Kohli played the innings with an impressive 84 runs off 98 balls. India got a 4-wickets victory with 11 runs remaining. This win highlighted India’s batting depth and their ability to perform under pressure.
2nd Semi-Final: New Zealand vs South Africa
The second semi-final in Lahore was between New Zealand and South Africa. NZ opted to bat first and set a big total of 362 for six wickets. It became the highest score in the tournament’s history. This huge score was contributed by centuries from Rachin Ravindra (108) and Kane Williamson (102). They established a pivotal 164-runs partnership.
South Africa’s response was amazing. At very early stage, David Miller delivered a rapid 100 runs. Despite his efforts, South Africa fell short. They tried to chase but reached to 312 score for nine outs. New Zealand’s bowlers, captain Mitchell Santner’s got three wickets for 43 runs. At last, New Zealand bowled very well and achieved a 50-runs victory.
In Semi-Finals, Net Run Rate of India was +0.715 with 6 points. While New Zealand got a NRR of +0.267 with 4 points.
The Grand Finale: Playing XIs
The upcoming final between India and New Zealand is going to be a thrilling fight. Both teams have shown their exceptional cricket skills throughout the series.
Based on the updated information, here are the probable playing XIs for both IND and NZ in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final:
India Squad | Role | NZ Squad | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
Rohit Sharma (c) | Batsman | Will Young | Batsman |
Shubman Gill | Batsman | Devon Conway | Batsman |
Virat Kohli | Batsman | Kane Williamson (c) | Batsman |
Shreyas Iyer | Batsman | Rachin Ravindra | All-rounder |
KL Rahul (wk) | Wicketkeeper-batsman | Tom Latham (wk) | Wicketkeeper-batsman |
Hardik Pandya | All-rounder | Glenn Phillips | Batsman |
Ravindra Jadeja | All-rounder | Mitchell Santner | All-rounder |
Axar Patel | All-rounder | Michael Bracewell | All-rounder |
Mohammed Shami | Bowler | Matt Henry | Bowler |
Kuldeep Yadav | Bowler | Lockie Ferguson | Bowler |
Varun Chakravarthy | Bowler | Ish Sodhi | Bowler |
Strategies
Both teams are likely to focus on their strengths. Hopefully both will cover their potential weakness:
Forecasting
It is very much difficult to analyse; who will win? We have seen that both teams have strong credentials throughout the tournament. Both are powerful in batting, bowling and fielding lines.
India’s familiarity with the Dubai conditions and their recent form might give them a slight advantage.
However, New Zealand’s balanced team and adaptability ensures that the final is set to be a closely contested match.
Let’s wait for the day to decide, who conquers the gold medal and become the real CHAMPION!
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