Varun Chakravarthy’s spin magic
The decision to include Varun Chakravarthy at the last moment seems to have worked for the Indian team in the ICC Champions Trophy. After warming the bench in the first two games, Varun Chakravarthy took seven wickets in the next two matches, including a fifer. The addition of the Tamil Nadu spinner, not only added cushion to Kuldeep Yadav’s workload, but also bolstered Indian bowling, especially in the middle overs as the 33-year-old comes with a variety of variations. in fact, his five-wicket haul came against New Zealand in the group stage.
Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson threat
Both Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson are coming into the final on the back of stunning hundreds against South Africa in the semifinals. The duo put on 164 runs together to take the game away from the Proteas. In fact, Rachin Ravindra had also scored a ton against Bangladesh and will once again pose a serious threat to the Indian attack.
Rohit Sharma’s lean patch
India captain Rohit Sharma’s form in the tournament has been a major talking point. Even legendary Sunil Gavaskar took a dig at Rohit Sharma’s form ahead of the final. Coming into the tournament after a 119 against England in ODI series, Rohit Sharma couldn’t replicate the same form in the Champions Trophy with scores of 41, 20, 15 and 28. Although, the Indian captain was able to provide quick starts, but failed to convert them into big scores in not centuries.
Dubai pitch factor
The wickets in Dubai has been a major talking point for most part of the tournament. In the four matches that were played on this stadium, the pitch has aided spinners more than the fast bowlers. One of the major highlights of the Dubai pitches has been it helped the batters when the ball is new but once the match gets 10-15 overs old, it starts to become slow, thus putting the spinners into play more. The highest score in Dubai in the Champions Trophy 2025 was 264 by Australia, which India overhauled with 11 balls to spare in the first semifinal.
The Matt Henry factor
Despite his concerns over a shoulder injury, Matt Henry remains one of the talking points as the New Zealand leads the chart with 10 wickets so far. In fact, five of those 10 wickets have come against India. Against the Men in Blue, Matt Henry looked letahal, reducing the Indians to 30/3 before the rescue act by Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. Along with pace, Matt Henry combines good seam movement which makes it difficult for the opposition batters.
India vs New Zealand, IND vs NZ, ICC Champions Trophy 2025
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