Champions Trophy Final: Rohit Sharma & Co. eye to rewrite history against New Zealand in Dubai

IANS March 7, 2025 416 views

The Indian cricket team, led by Rohit Sharma, stands on the brink of potentially rewriting their ICC tournament narrative in the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand. Despite historically challenging encounters in ICC knockout stages, India enters the match unbeaten and with remarkable momentum after defeating Australia in the semifinals. New Zealand brings their own impressive track record, having won previous knockout encounters and looking to secure another ICC title. The Dubai showdown promises high-stakes cricket with both teams eager to etch their names in tournament history.

"We're ready to rewrite our ICC tournament history" - Implied Team Sentiment
Champions Trophy Final: Rohit Sharma & Co. eye to rewrite history against New Zealand in Dubai
New Delhi, March 7: The unbeaten India will take on resilient New Zealand in the summit clash of the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday. The eight-team extravaganza will get its new winner after a long wait of almost eight years.

Key Points

1

India aiming for third consecutive Champions Trophy final appearance

2

Rohit Sharma leads unbeaten team against historical knockout challenges

3

New Zealand holds 3-1 edge in previous ICC tournament encounters

4

Crucial match in Dubai will determine tournament's new champion

Coincidently, India lost the 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan and missed out on their second consecutive title. Meanwhile, it will be India's third successive trip to the ICC Champions Trophy final, making them the first team to do so.

India and New Zealand were placed in the same group and their previous encounter was a 44-run win for the former to stay on top of Group A with three straight wins. India went on to beat the ODI World Champions Australia in the semi-final by four wickets to advance to the title encounter.

On the other hand, New Zealand started their campaign with a win against defending champions and host Pakistan in Karachi, followed by a win and a loss against Bangladesh and India respectively. In the semifinal, Blackcaps defeated South Africa by 50 runs to set up a tournament pinnacle against India.

As the world awaits for the winner of the tournament, the past records between the two teams in the ICC knockout stages across formats give a clear edge to New Zealand.

India vs New Zealand in ICC knockout matches record

India and New Zealand have clashed four times in ICC knockout matches, with the Blackcaps holding a dominant 3-1 edge over the Men in Blue.

Their encounters include the 2000 Champions Trophy final, the 2019 and 2023 World Cup semifinals, and the 2021 World Test Championship final. India's only success came in their most recent meeting, the 2023 World Cup semifinal.

New Zealand claimed their maiden ICC title by defeating India in the 2000 Champions Trophy final, chasing down 265, powered by Chris Cairns' match-winning century. They repeated history in 2021, beating India in the WTC final to secure their second and most recent ICC trophy.

India vs New Zealand head-to-head record in ODIs

In 119 matches played between them, India have won 61 while New Zealand have registered victories in 50 games. One ODI match between India and New Zealand has resulted in a tie while seven games have ended in no result.

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Tags:
ICC Champions Trophy Rohit Sharma India Cricket New Zealand Cricket ODI Final Dubai Tournament
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