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Champions Trophy final: Will Dubai's pitch give India an advantage against NZ?
Two UAE cricketers, who have bowled a lot at Dubai International Stadium, and a UAE-based New Zealand fan, shared their opinion on Sunday's final
- PUBLISHED: Sat 8 Mar 2025, 3:08 PM
The stage is set for the big final of the ICC Champions Trophy, a 50 overs tournament featuring the world’s top eight teams, at the Dubai International Stadium.
If India had failed to win the first semifinal on Tuesday, the final would have taken place between New Zealand and Australia in Lahore tomorrow.
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But India have been magnificent on the slow surfaces of Dubai with their four-pronged spin attack consistently delivering the goods.
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Virat Kohli is playing as well as he has ever played in one-day cricket, his favourite format.
India will also feel good about the final, having beaten New Zealand comprehensively on the same ground in the group stages.
But New Zealand always punch above their weight. On paper, India clearly have the better team, especially for the conditions in Dubai.
New Zealand, though, would be waiting for their moments, like a canny defensive boxer, to pounce on any error from their opponent on the big day.
A lot of talks revolved around India’s so-called advantage of playing only in Dubai, without having to travel for matches, unlike the other teams in the tournament and the tailor-made pitches for their style of play.
So will it really help India again in the finale?
We asked this question to two UAE international cricketers who have bowled a lot at the Dubai International Stadium and a New Zealand cricket fan who lives in Abu Dhabi.
While all of them agreed that Dubai’s pitch will suit India, they all expect a great game of cricket as New Zealand would be throwing everything they have got at their opponent to cause an upset.
Zahoor Khan, who played first-class cricket in Pakistan with Misbah ul Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, the Akmal brothers (Kamran, Umar and Adnan), Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam before moving to Dubai to represent the UAE in international cricket, backed India to win Sunday’s final.
“I think both are very good teams, but India’s spin department gives them the edge. That spin attack is very strong. That’s why it’s 60-40 for India, especially considering how well India are performing,” said Zaheer who has taken 165 wickets in T20I and ODIs for the UAE with his right-arm pace bowling.
“So India are the favourites, but it will be a very good match. Also, I think the team that will bowl first, will have a big advantage. Yes, the Dubai pitch is slow, but batting under lights is easier.”
India batted first only once in this tournament in Dubai when they faced New Zealand in the group stages.
In the three games when they chased, their batters were in complete control to make sure the team reached the final unbeaten.
While they have been consistent with the bat and ball, critics pointed to their ‘advantage’ of playing all their matches on similar pitches in Dubai.
But former UAE captain Ahmed Raza, a former left-arm spinner who bowled a lot at the Dubai Stadium, dismissed those claims.
“I know there's been a lot of talk about advantage and disadvantage, but look at the end of the day, you still have to play good cricket to win a game of 50 overs,” said Raza who is now the head coach of the UAE women’s cricket team.
“It's not T20 cricket where you know one player can change the course of the game. It's a 50-over format. So, if you don't play good cricket for long periods, which India has done so far, you can’t win. So I don't think it's fair to talk about advantages or disadvantages. I'm pretty neutral on this.”
New Zealand, according to Raza, will pin their hopes on their left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, who gave away only 41 runs against India in the group stage game while claiming the wicket of KL Rahul.
“Santner will be the key for the Kiwis, it all depends on how he bowls and how Indian batters play him,” Raza said.
“I think the only difference in the group stage game was that he was maintaining the pressure, but he could not find the support from the other end. So they will need others to support him tomorrow because if the other bowlers are not consistent, then Santner can’t do it all alone,” the former UAE spin bowler added before praising the Indian spinners, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy.
“If you look at the at the Indian spinners, what they've done is they've been consistent. if you don't push the ball in the right area, you're not gonna get the result true. And they have done that really well,” he said.
“We'll see what happens. But I think it will be a great game of cricket. If you want to win in Dubai, you need to be disciplined. And these are the two most disciplined teams in this tournament.”
Meanwhile, Kiwi cricket fan John Larkins, who lives in Abu Dhabi, is backing his team to pull off a surprise.
“The squad was picked with Pakistan (the original host) in mind, obviously not Dubai. They did well in the Pakistan leg of the tournament and also in the tri-series (before the Champions Trophy), they went undefeated. So they are a very good team,” said.
Having played some cricket over the past six-seven years in the UAE, New Zealand, Larkins says, should be able to adapt to the conditions.
“Yeah, for Kiwis here in the UAE, we feel very blessed over the last six-seven years to have had the New Zealand team travel here a number of times,” he said.
“New Zealand played here a lot against Pakistan and they also played the T20 World Cup here in 2021 when they reached the final.
“So it feels like our backyard now. And, you know, there will be a lot of us who will be going to the stadium tomorrow feeling very excited, and hopefully the boys can get across the line.”
Champions Trophy final
Sunday (March 9)
India vs New Zealand
Dubai International Stadium
1 pm UAE Time
Head-to-head
Matches 119
India won 61
New Zealand won 50
Tied 1
No result 7
On neutral venues
Matches 34
India won 16
New Zealand won 16
No result 2
Teams:
India (likely): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Axar Patel, 6 KL Rahul (wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Varun Chakravarthy
New Zealand (likely): 1 Will Young, 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Mitchell Santner (capt), 9 Kyle Jamieson, 10 Matt Henry/Jacob Duffy/Nathan Smith, 11 Will O'Rourke.
Rituraj Borkakoty is Sports Editor and has spent more than two decades writing on his sporting heroes. He also loves an underdog story, so if you have one, share it with him. He would love to bring it to life.