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India and New Zealand are set to lock horns in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final on March 9 in Dubai, marking their first white-ball tournament final meeting in 25 years. Both teams have fought their way through a tough tournament and will now battle for glory in what promises to♊ be a thrilling encounter.
India vs New Zealand: An exciting Champions Trophy 2025 final awaits
New Zealand sealed their place in the final with a dominant 50-run victory over South Africa in the second semi-final at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. Meanwhile, India secured their spot by defeating Australia by four wickets in a tense first semi-final in Dubai. As the two sides prepare for this high-stakes clash, New Zealand will be keen to avenge their Group A loss to India, where the Men in Blue outplayed them earlier in ꦕthe competition.
The last time these two teams met in a white-ball tournament final was back in the ICC Knockout Trophy 2000 (now the Champions Trophy) in Nairobi, Kenya. On that occasion, New Zealand lifted their first-ever ICC trophy, chasing d🉐own India’s target to win by💦 four wickets.
David Miller names his favourite for the final in Dubai
Following South Africa’s heartbreaking exit from the semi-final against New Zealand, veteran batter David Miller has voiced his support for the Black Caps in the final. Miller, who scored a sensational century off just 67 balls in the semi-final, admitted that travel issues and tight scheduling played a role in South Africa’s struggles leading up to the crucial match.
“It’s only an hour and 40 minute flight, but the fact that we had to do that was not ideal,” Miller said after South Africa’s exit from the tournament. The South African team left for Dubai from Karachi on Sunday afternoon and was back in Lahore on Monday. It’s early morning, it’s after a game and we had to fly. Then we got to Dubai at 4:00 pm. And at 7.30 am we had to come back. It doesn’t make it nice. It’s not like we flew five hours, and we had enough time to recover and recuperate, but it was not an ideal situation still,” Miller was qu🌞oted as saying by The Indian Express.
While expressing disappointment over missing out on a final against India, Miller acknowledged that New Zealand played better cricket and deserved their place in the final. He added that he would now be supporting Mitchell Santner’s team to lift the trophy on March 9.
“I’ll honest with you, I think I’ll be supporting New Zealand in the final,” Miller concluded.
Also READ: India or New Zea♒land? Wasim Akram and Misbah-ul-Haq pred♓ict the winner of Champions Trophy 2025 final
The road to the final: India’s and New Zealand’s journey
India have been unbeaten in the tournament, winning all their Group A matches against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand before overcoming Australia in the semi-final. Rohit Sharma‘s side has shown remarkable consistency with both bat and ball, with Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer leading the charge in the batting department, while Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravindra Jadeja have been outstanding with the ball.
New Zealand, on the other hand, had a mixed group-stage campaign, winning against Bangladesh but suffering a defeat against India before bouncing back with a crucial win over Pakistan to secure their place in the semi-finals. In the knockout match, New Zealand’s bowlers, led by Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner, dismantled South Africa’s top order, while Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson’s partnership set up a strong total, leading 💮them to a commanding victory.
With India aiming for their third Champions Trophy title and New Zealand hunting for their second, the final showdown in Dubai is expected to be an eꦗlectrifying battle between two of the world’s most formidable teams. The stakes are higher than ever, and cricket fans worldwide eagerly await a contest that could go down as one of the greatest finals in ICC history.
