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Indian batters on Friday extensively honed their skill against left-arm and off-spin variations ahead of facing New Zealand's Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell in the Champions Trophy final on Sunday. The top and middle-order batters faced the in-house spin quartet of Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja, before taking on an ensemble of local spinners.
New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner on Thursday acknowledged India's familiarity with the slow pitch here at the DICS, but said his side is ready for a "scrap" in the Champions Trophy final. The Kiwis arrived here on Thursday evening ahead of the ICC showpiece's title clash against India on March 9. "They've played all their games here in Dubai and know that surface. Obviously, the surface will dictate a little bit of how we want to operate. It might be a little bit slower than what we got in Lahore. It might be more of a scrap, but we're down to scrap," Santner said after touching base in the city.
India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav wished Men in Blue luck ahead of their ICC Champions Trophy final against New Zealand and also lauded skipper Rohit Sharma's fitness and contributions as captain in recent years, which include taking India to the final of all ICC tournaments during his tenure. India will be playing New Zealand in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy on March 9 at Dubai International Stadium. With India being undefeated in the tournament so far and the Kiwis having looked rock solid with bat and ball under the captaincy of Mitchell Santner, the clash promises to be an epic sequel to their 2000 ICC Champions Trophy final, when NZ 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.
Kane Williamson stressed New Zealand must take lessons from their group-stage defeat by India when they meet again in the Champions Trophy final on Sunday. New Zealand cruised into the Dubai showdown with a convincing 50-run win over South Africa in their semi-final in Lahore as Williamson and Rachin Ravindra hit hundreds. The duo set up New Zealand's 362-6 -- the highest total in tournament history -- before Mitchell Santner (3-43) led an effective spin attack to restrict South Africa to 312-9.
South Africa batsman David Miller said his team's hop to Dubai and back ahead of their Champions Trophy semi-final defeat to New Zealand in Lahore was "not ideal". The tangled scheduling of the event came into question as Australia and South Africa both had to fly to Dubai from Pakistan ahead of the semi-finals. South Africa were there for less than 24 hours before jetting back again without playing a game. Australia stayed and lost in the last four to India. The haphazard scheduling was a result of India playing all their games in Dubai after refusing to travel to tournament hosts Pakistan for political reasons.
LAHORE: Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson struck hundreds as New Zealand eased to a 50-run win over South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday to set up a rematch with India in the Champions Trophy final.
LAHORE, Pakistan : New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner said the 164-run stand between Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson set up their victory against South Africa in a high-scoring semi-final of the Champions Trophy on Wednesday.
Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson struck commanding centuries as New Zealand hammered South Africa by 50 runs in a high-scoring semifinal to set up a summit clash with India in the Champions Trophy, on Wednesday. Ravindra played a brilliant knock of 108 runs off 101 balls, laced with 13 fours and a six, while Williamson struck 102 off 94 balls, including 10 fours and two sixes, after skipper Mitchell Santner opted to bat. Daryl Mitchell (49 off 37 balls), Glenn Phillips (49 not out off 27 balls) and Michael Bracewell (16 off 12 balls) then capitalized on the solid foundation, adding 112 runs in the final 10 overs to power New Zealand to a massive total of 362/6 -- the highest score in Champions Trophy history.