Champions Trophy 2025 final: NZ elect to bat against India
What's the story
The much-awaited final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, between India and New Zealand, is upon us. The Dubai International Stadium will host the high-voltage fixture.
India have been dominant in the tournament, winning their four games so far. New Zealand are not far behind, having clinched three of their four matches.
NZ captain Mitchell Santner has won the toss and elected to bat.
Playing XIs
Injured Matt Henry ruled out; Nathan Smith comes in
New Zealand (Playing XI): Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wicket-keeper), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (captain), Kyle Jamieson, William ORourke, and Nathan Smith.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy.
Details
Pitch, conditions, and streaming details
As per the weather forecast, the Dubai Stadium will have a temperature of around 28°C.
The pitch here is expected to be balanced, with both pace and spin bowlers getting assistance. Historically, the average score in the first innings at this venue has been around 236 runs.
The match be televised on Star Sports Network, while JioHotstar will provide the live streaming (2:30pm IST).
Record
A look at head-to-head record
As per ESPNcricinfo, the two teams have played 119 ODIs between them, and India have an edge here.
The Men in Blue have won 61 matches in comparison to NZ's 50 victories (Tie: 1, NR: 7).
Before the ongoing tourney, the two teams met only once in the Champions Trophy - during the final of the 2000 edition, where New Zealand triumphed over India.
Journey
Journey of India, NZ
India reached the semi-final after beating Bangladesh, Pakistan, and NZ in the league stage. They overcame Australia to reach the final.
Notably, India are playing all their games in Dubai as they refused to travel to Pakistan amid political tensions.
New Zealand's route to the semi-final featured wins over Bangladesh and Pakistan and a defeat to India. They beat South Africa in the semi-final.
Rohit
First-ever captain with this feat
As per Cricbuzz, Rohit is the first-ever skipper to reach the final of all four Men's ICC tournaments - World Test Championship 2023, ODI World Cup 2023, T20 World Cup 2024, and Champions Trophy 2025.
He could now become only the second captain to win ICC titles in both ODI and T20I formats.
Only five captains have won multiple ICC titles as of now.
Kohli
Virat Kohli eyes this record
Rohit's compatriot Virat Kohli is also on the brink of another record in international cricket.
He is 55 shy of second-placed Kumar Sangakkara (14,234) in terms of ODI runs.
As of now, Kohli has racked up 14,180 runs from 301 ODIs at an average of 58.11. His tally includes 51 tons and 74 half-centuries.
India's Sachin Tendulkar leads this list with 18,426 runs.