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LAHORE: It would not be a cake-walk for over-confident India to beat this time New Zealand in the Sunday’s finale of the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai after their initial group stage victory over Kiwis in conditions which mostly suit spinners.
New Zealand, truly in top form, now have an exact idea of the challenges which they will have to face against India following their 44-run loss in their previous show against the South Asian giants.
India are a much-balanced side and they usually go with more spin options to capitalize on the conditions but New Zealand also have multiple spin options which could pose a real threat to the Indian batsmen.
Their skipper Mitchell Santer leads their spin attack which also has Michael Bracewell, Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips.
Their seamers, led by their frontline top character Matt Henry, are equally capable to dent India’s intent to play aggressive in the powerplay.
Matt had got five wickets against India in the previous game in Dubai. The best thing in New Zealand team is that their fielding has been so far superb. And it supplements their bowlers’ efforts and Glenn Phillips has been seen taking some blinders.
India already is well-aware of the fact as Phillips had held that blinder of Virat Kohli in the previous show.
Preventing singles by the close-in fielders would be key for New Zealand as it will put pressure on India.
New Zealand have shown top fielding skills during the tri-nation series, also involving Pakistan and South Africa, which they won and in the Champions Trophy as well.
New Zealand would have transferred their thoughts to the conditions in Dubai. Every player would have started thinking about to play their roles effectively in the game which matters the most following their 50-run victory in the semi-final against Proteas at the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore the other day.
New Zealand’s batting has all types of characters and their batsmen have been seen playing their role quite effectively in this tournament. The best thing with the Kiwis’ batting line-up is that all their batsmen are in top form and are delivering.
They are not the sort of team which relies on a few batting options. They have depth in batting like India.
Rachin Ravindra scored centuries against Bangladesh and South Africa in the semi-final and the most impressive character Kane Williamson has been batting too effectively in this event, also having scored a century in the semi-final.
Opener Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips are in good touch. Their middle order is fine on spin and this is a huge advantage with New Zealand.
Due to tight schedule New Zealand needed recovery time and they have got it for the final.
India definitely have the advantage of playing all their matches in Dubai. Reaping benefits of the hybrid model they have boarded at the same place and have developed perfect feelings of playing on slow, spin-friendly tracks. Their bowlers have come to know where to bowl and their batsmen have mastered how to bat on such pitches with slow nature.
India has the knack to bounce back after hiccups and New Zealand will need to prevent them from building major partnerships.
