March 8, 2025: Ahead of the highly anticipated ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final against New Zealand in Dubai, former India captain and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly expressed confidence in India’s chances, believing that if the Men in Blue play to their potential, they will emerge victorious.
India will face New Zealand in the final on March 9 at the Dubai International Stadium, and the clash promises to be an exciting contest. India is unbeaten in the tournament so far, while New Zealand has been equally impressive under the leadership of Mitchell Santner, displaying strength with both bat and ball. Ganguly extended his best wishes to Team India, emphasizing their strength and ability to claim the title. “Best wishes to team India. It is a good team, and we hope it plays well. If we play well, we will win,” Ganguly said.
The final between the two sides also offers an emotional sequel to the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy final, where New Zealand defeated India. Additionally, the Men in Blue will be aiming to avenge their losses to New Zealand in the 2019 ICC World Cup semifinal and the 2021 ICC World Test Championship final.
India’s last match against New Zealand saw them triumph by 44 runs after posting 249 runs and restricting the Black Caps to 205 runs all out. The performance of the spin bowlers, particularly Varun Chakravarthy, was a key highlight. Chakravarthy picked up impressive figures of 5/42, mirroring New Zealand’s Matt Henry, who also claimed 5/42 in the match. Kane Williamson was the standout performer for New Zealand, scoring 81 runs, but the Kiwis couldn’t gather enough support in the middle order.
As the two teams prepare for the final showdown, the stage is set for an epic contest that will see India aiming for glory and New Zealand looking to continue their dominance.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh.
New Zealand Squad: Will Young, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, William O’Rourke, Daryl Mitchell, Nathan Smith, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy.