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Ahead of Sunday's final clash between India and New Zealand in the Champions Trophy 2025 at Dubai, Arijit Majumder, National Cricket Academy (NCA) level II coach, said he was not expecting any changes in the playing XI and was positive that India would win the match.
Arijit Majumder said, "If I speak from the heart, I am positive that India will win. Technically, the match will be good. The combination in both teams is nice. We feel there will not be any changes in the team. We have good spin and pace attacks. In batting, Team India has more experience. We will win. The bigger cricketers like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are well aware of what they need to do; they need not be told. I feel that Mohammed Shami will be an important factor." Another young supporter, Ansh Mohanty, said that India would win the Champions Trophy if they gave their best. Ansh Mohanty said, "I hope India performs well. New Zealand will give a tough fight, as they did in the last match. But if India gives its best, the Champions Trophy will be ours." Another supporter, Vaibhav, said that India should choose to bat first if they won the toss. Vaibhav said, "We will win and lift the Champions Trophy after a long time. They should choose to bat first because if they set a target, it can become difficult for New Zealand. Varun Chakravarthy is taking wickets. Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and KL Rahul are in good form." Virat Kohli's former coach Raj Kumar Sharma felt that there will be "tough competition" between both sides in the last and final game of the marquee event. India is undefeated in the tournament so far, and the Kiwis have looked rock solid with bat and ball under Mitchell Santner's captaincy. The clash promises to be an epic sequel to the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy final, which New Zealand won. Men in Blue would like to avenge losses to the Blackcaps in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup semifinal and 2021 ICC World Test Championship final. " Two very good teams have reached the finals. I feel that it will be tough competition. Both teams are playing very good cricket...now that the temperature has increased, the pitch will be dry...the spinners will have the advantage," Raj Kumar Sharma said while speaking to ANI. Adding to the intrigue, these two teams have already battled in the tournament, and at the same venue, no less. This means strategies and adjustments will be firmly in focus as the Black Caps attempt to correct what happened a week ago. (ANI)
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