Champions Trophy: NZ elect to field against India in Dubai
What's the story
The last group-stage match of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, between India and New Zealand is upon us at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Both the sides have already qualified for the semi-finals, and are unbeaten in the tournament so far.
The upcoming match will decide their opponents for the semi-final.
NZ captain Mitchell Santner has won the toss and elected to field.
Line-ups
Varun Chakravarthy replaces Rana as fourth spinner; Conway misses out
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.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wicket-keeper), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (captain), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, and William ORourke.
Details
Pitch report and streaming details
As has been the case, the pitch at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium is expected to be slow. The same was witnessed in India's clashes against Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Rohit Sharma's men have comfortably chased down the targets so far.
The match be live telivised on Star Sports Network, while JioHotstar will provide the live streaming (2:30pm IST).
Record
A look at head-to-head record
The two teams have played 118 ODIs between them, and India have an edge here.
The Men in Blue have won 60 matches in comparison to NZ's 50 victories. One match ended in a tie, while seven games were inconclusive.
India and NZ clashed twice in the 2023 ODI World Cup, with the former winning both encounters.
Notably, NZ lead 10-5 in ICC tournaments.
India
India's triumphant journey in the tournament
India reached the Champions Trophy semi-final after beating Bangladesh and arch-rivals Pakistan.
Despite losing early wickets, Pakistan recovered well due to a century stand between Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel.
However, the recovery was short-lived as another collapse happened under the pressure from Indian bowlers Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya.
India chased down the 242-run target on the back of Virat Kohli's magnificent century.
New Zealand
New Zealand's path to semi-finals
New Zealand's route to the semi-finals was smoothened by a thumping win over Bangladesh.
Michael Bracewell's four-wicket haul triggered a top-order collapse for Bangladesh, which was later steadied by Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Despite spirited bowling from Bangladesh, NZ chased down 237 with Rachin Ravindra's century on his Champions Trophy debut and a half-century from Tom Latham.
The Black Caps beat Pakistan in their opener.
Landmark
300 ODI appearances for Virat Kohli
Run Machine Virat Kohli has unlocked yet another achievement in his illustrious international cricket career.
Kohli has become only the seventh player with 300 appearances for India in ODI cricket.
He joins the likes of Sachin Tendulkar (463), MS Dhoni (347), Rahul Dravid (340), Mohammad Azharuddin (334), Sourav Ganguly (308), and Yuvraj Singh (301) on this list.