India will go head to head against New Zealand in a final clash of the Champions Trophy on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium.
An unbeaten India overpowered Australia in the semis to secure a finals berth, while the Black Caps emerged victorious in their semi-final clash with South Africa to seal their spot in the finals.
With just two days remaining for the much awaited finals, the question remains whether both the teams will make any changes to their playing XIs are not.
Team India maintained the same winning combination with four spinners so far this tournament. But picking wickets in the middle overs and getting early breakthroughs has remained a concern for the Blues.
Indian veteran Suniel Gavaskar pointing out the problem said on a popular News Channel, “The opening bowlers haven’t really given the Indian Team the kind of start they had hoped for. I think there’s a shortcoming over there. In the middle overs, we have not got wickets, even though the runs have not been flowing. So those are the areas that you get better in to better the chances of winning the finals.”
Nevertheless he also opined that India should not make changes to the winning side.
On the other hand, backing the Black Caps in the finals, former England skipper Nasser Hussain said the New Zealand side has some ‘very tough cricketers’.
“They will not bottle it, they won’t choke. We were having dinner with Aaron Finch and he summed it up pretty well by saying New Zealand are never a side that beat themselves. And by that, he means that they will rock up, and they will put in a performance,” he told Sky Sports.
“All the way through the New Zealand lineup they have some very, very tough cricketers who turn up to every single game and give it their absolute best – that’s why they will always be there around semi-finals and finals,” he added.
India would probably stick to their match winning combinations, which the New Zealand would also prefer but their top pacer Henry, who injured his shoulder in the semi-finals might miss the all important game.
Playing XIs:
India
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
New Zealand
Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry/Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson, Will O’Rourke