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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.
Former South Africa and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter AB de Villiers feels that winning the coveted Indian Premier League (IPL) title with Bengaluru-based would be the perfect finishing touch to Virat Kohli's phenomenal career. Kohli has been associated with RCB since the inception of IPL in 2008. He has also led the franchise in 140 matches before leaving the leadership role. In 252 matches, the batting stalwart has amassed 8,004 runs, including eight centuries and 55 fifties at an impressive average of 38.67.
With Varun Chakravarthy proving to be a vital cog in India's successful run in the ongoing Champions Trophy, former opener Murali Vijay said on Friday that the mystery spinner is on the verge of becoming a world-class white-ball bowler because of his control on the carrom ball and the flippers. Chakravarthy has taken seven wickets in two Champions Trophy games, including a five-for against New Zealand in the group stage, which puts him among the leading wicket-takers in the competition as India aim to win the marquee ICC event in Dubai on Sunday.
Pakistan cricket team spinner Abrar Ahmed found himself in the headlines after he gave a fiery send-off to Shubman Gill during the Champions Trophy 2025 match against India. Following Pakistan's loss in the encounter, he came under a lot of fire with Wasim Akram slamming him for his gesture. Abrar has now revealed that he teased Virat Kohli during the match and asked him to hit the spinner for a six. Virat was the top performer for India as he slammed a brilliant boundary while Abrar produced a solid performance. In a recent interview, he explained his admiration for the star batter and said that he was excited with the prospect of bowling to Kohli and took the opportunity to tease him.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCII) has not announced the list of annual contracts this year and according to a report by Times Of India, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja may end up losing out on their Grade A+ contracts. The report claimed that players who excel in all three formats are given preference for Grade A+ contracts and the trio's retirement from the T20 format has complicated matters. The report added that the central contracts are generally announced before the Indian Premier League (IPL) but the BCCI have decided to wait till the end of the Champions Trophy.
India enters the Champions Trophy 2025 Final in Dubai on Sunday in excellent form, having secured four wins in the tournament, as per the official website of ICC. India's tournament opener saw them prevail in a tight contest against Bangladesh in Dubai, registering a sizzling six-wicket victory to begin their campaign on a winning note. Pacer Mohammed Shami's impressive 5/53, combined with three scalps from Harshit Rana and two from Axar Patel, restricted Bangladesh to 228. Shubman Gill's unbeaten 101*, combined with stylish knocks from Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, ensured smooth sailing for India as they reached the Tigers' total with 21 balls to spare.
India have won all of their matches in their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign till now. They emerged unbeaten in the group stage and completely outplayed Australia in the semifinal. However, legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said that there were places where the team can still improve despite outplaying every team till now. He said that India have not produced a lot of wickets in the middle overs despite keeping the runs in check and also pointed out the lack of successful partnerships for the opening wicket. He also demanded more wickets with the new ball from the pacers in the first 10 overs.
Former Indian cricket team batter Navjot Singh Sidhu was all praise for star batter Virat Kohli and he called his performances "a tight slap" for people who doubted him. Following his disappointing show in the Test series against Australia, Kohli came under a lot of criticism from both fans as well as experts. However, with match-winning knocks against Pakistan and New Zealand, he has left everyone stunned and Sidhu could not stop hailing him for his performances. Sidhu went on to call him a match-winner and even namedrops former United States President Bill Clinton in his analysis.