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Team India captain Rohit Sharma's former coach, Dinesh Lad, has expressed unwavering confidence in India's victory at the highly anticipated ICC Champions Trophy final against New Zealand on Sunday.
Speaking ahead of the summit clash, Lad revealed that Rohit had personally assured him of bringing the trophy home. "India will definitely win the trophy because he (Rohit Sharma) has promised me to win the trophy," Lad told ANI. He also praised the team's collective performance, emphasizing that cricket is not just about individual brilliance but a team effort. "Cricket is a team game, and the whole team is performing very well," he added. Lad, who has played a crucial role in shaping Rohit's early career, also shared his hopes for the Indian skipper's future in ODI cricket. "I want Rohit Sharma to play the 2027 ODI World Cup and then retire," he said, indicating that he believes Rohit has more to offer before calling time on his illustrious career. With India eyeing another major ICC title, all eyes will be on how they counter the challenge posed by New Zealand in what promises to be a high-stakes final. 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. India claimed last week's contest against the Kiwis by 44 runs, after posting 249 runs from their 50 overs and restricting New Zealand to 205 runs all out in the 46th over. While there's been a lot of focus on spin bowlers stepping up in the UAE, it was Matt Henry who starred with the ball for the Black Caps, claiming 5/42 off eight overs, in an innings where Shreyas Iyer top-scored for India with a 79 off 98 balls. Kane Williamson fought valiantly for the Kiwis with an 81 (120 balls), but couldn't find support in the middle order. India's spinners combined for nine wickets, led by 'secret weapon' Varun Chakaravarthy, taking 5/42 - coincidentally the exact figures as Henry for the Kiwis - in what was just the 33-year-old leg-spinner's second One Day International. Squads: 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. (ANI)
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