India (IND) are set to clash against New Zealand (NZ) in their final league stage game of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, March 2. This highly anticipated clash is likely to play a vital role in deciding the standings of the teams in the point table, with the Indian side aiming to maintain their dominance.
The big stage of the Champions Trophy is all set for some exciting cricket action. In the 12th match of the ongoing season, India is all set to cross swords with New Zealand on March 2. As both sides are all set to face each other in their last group stage fixture, the big stage is set for another big clash. Fans are all set to enjoy the cricket action live from 2:30 PM (IST).
IND vs NZ : Previous Performances
Team India gave a great start to their Champions Trophy campaign after defeating Bangladesh in their inaugural match. Later on, they extended their winning streak by defeating their arch-rivals Pakistan in the second match. After that exceptional victory, they have already secured the semifinal place while standing on the second position of the points table with 4 points.
India, though, can count a victory in their last meeting on the world stage as a positive. They registered a convincing, comprehensive and clinical win in the semifinals of the 2023 World Cup in Mumbai where all in the current top order – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul – fired. India will aim to repeat that imperious display on Sunday
Team India has been in a polished form, securing credible triumphs against Bangladesh and arch-rivals Pakistan in the first two group stage matches. A win against New Zealand would not only extend their winning run but can also make sure they finish at the top of the points table.
New Zealand have been in fine form, winning both their leagues games as well with comfortable margins. They will also look to maintaining their unbeaten record in this edition and carrying momentum heading into the semi-final in Lahore.
On the other hand, New Zealand is also standing in a similar position as India. After defeating Pakistan in their first match, they kept their domination alive after defeating Bangladesh in the next clash. After securing the semifinal stage, they are set to face India in their last group stage clash.
With both teams eyeing momentum and focus heading into their last league game, cricket enthusiasts can look forward to a thrilling contest between two powerhouses of world cricket under the Dubai lights.
It is no laughing matter, of course. The numbers speak for themselves. A 5-10 record in global tournaments, including a win in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, skews the balance heavily in the favour of the Black Caps.
New Zealand also triumphed in the only face-off in this competition, back in the final of the ICC Knockout 2000. Sunday’s clash in the 2025 Champions Trophy will not affect qualification – both teams are already through – but it’ll decide which of these teams finish top of Group A and carry momentum with them into the knockouts.
IND vs NZ : Head to Head
| Matches Played | 118 |
| Won by India | 60 |
| Won by New Zealand | 50 |
| Tied | 01 |
| No Result | 07 |
| First-ever Fixture | 14 June, 1975 |
| Most-recent Fixture | 15 Nov, 2023 |
IND vs NZ : Pitch and Weather Report
The Dubai International Stadium is expected to favour the spinners. The batters have to pace up the innings in the beginning as the pitch seems to be low scoring. The team winning the toss might opt to bowl first. The pitch at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium provides early assistance to fast bowlers, allowing for some seam movement with the new ball.
It maintains a balanced nature. While pacers receive initial support, spinners start to come into play as the surface slows down during the middle overs. Batting tends to become easier as the match goes on. In night games, dew can significantly impact the conditions, potentially affecting bowlers and shaping team strategies.
The mornings and nights here have been chilly, but during playtime, the temperatures are expected to be cricket-friendly, both in the afternoon and evening. The team winning the toss may opt to bat, but India won’t mind chasing either.
Dubai has been the most spin-friendly of the four Champions Trophy venues, with spinners currently returning an average of 37.07 and an economy rate of 4.36 here. Rawalpindi is second on both counts, at 40.60 and 4.81.This, of course, may also have something do to with the quality of India’s spinners.
In any case, the pitches in Dubai, far from being square turners, have tended to be merely slow, with the large outfield also serving as an ally to the slower bowlers. Bangladesh and Pakistan both won the toss against India and chose to bat, reflecting the trend for dew not to be much of a factor at this time of the year. It’s possible that bat-first may still be the way to go, given the tendency for the pitches here to slow down over 100 overs. A clear, pleasant day is expected on Sunday, with a maximum temperature of 24 degrees Celsius.
IND vs NZ : Big Picture : Virat Kohli joins 300 matches club
Scroll down to the form guide section. Actually, no need, because, spoiler warning, both teams have WWWWW next to them going into this match.
These are two exceptional ODI outfits in potentially title-winning form, deep and balanced thanks to the allrounders they possess. They are well-suited to conditions at this Champions Trophy – particularly, perhaps, to those in Dubai where this contest will take place – thanks to their spin options and the variety of batting gears in their top orders. There has also been, especially over the last five years and a bit, a lot of history between these two teams.
This should, for all those reasons, be a main-course kind of contest, but it’s an appetiser in the context of where this Champions Trophy stands. India and New Zealand are both through to the semi-finals, and know exactly where and when their respective semi-finals will be played. All that remains to be decided is whom they will face there, and it’s unlikely there’s a “preferred” opponent for either team, given it’s a choice between South Africa and Australia.
With that in mind, and the short turnaround before the semi-finals – particularly in the case of India, who only have a one-day gap before their game on March 4 – Sunday night’s contest may not necessarily be played at vein-throbbing intensity. There’s a chance of big names resting, and also – as India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate suggested on Friday – of key bowlers not completing their full ten-over quotas.
There’s one man whose intensity is never short of vein-throbbing when he’s on the field, though, and he’s set to play a very special match. Virat Kohli is set to play his 300th ODI, becoming the 22nd player and seventh from India to get to that landmark. Given how infrequently ODIs are now played, and given how far away Kohli’s closest contemporaries are – Mushfiqur Rahim (274) and Rohit Sharma (272) are the only two to have played more than 250 – will he also be the last to get there
IND vs NZ : In the spotlight: Shreyas Iyer and Kyle Jamieson
India’s batting is yet to face a truly daunting test in this Champions Trophy. They have batted second in both their games so far, and chased down targets of 229 and 242. Whether they bat first or second on Sunday, they are likelier to face a stiffer challenge from New Zealand, particularly from their finger spinners Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell through the middle overs.
It is perhaps in this context that Shreyas Iyer becomes especially important. Where Kohli and KL Rahul have gone at strike rates in the low 80s against spin in the middle overs since the start of 2023, Iyer has struck at 95.24. New Zealand know how dangerous Iyer is against spin – he hit five sixes while scoring 48 off 35 balls against their spinners during his century in the Mumbai World Cup semi-final of 2023.
If the Kohli generation is India’s golden generation, it probably peaked around the time of the inaugural World Test Championship of 2019-21. And it’s quite possible that India may have won that trophy had they not happened to run into Kyle Jamieson.
This towering and hugely gifted fast-bowling allrounder has gone through a testing time since then, mostly due to injury, and he’s now set to face India for the first time in any format since December 2021. Jamieson hasn’t yet had the same impact in ODIs that he has had in Tests; could the sight of his favourite opponents bring out his best?
IND vs NZ : Vital Stats that matters
- India and New Zealand have only met once before in the Champions Trophy: the final in 2000 when an unbeaten Chris Cairns century led New Zealand to a four-wicket win.
- India have won each of their last five completed ODIs against New Zealand; New Zealand won five in a row before that stretch.
- Tom Latham’s unbeaten 118 made all the headlines, but he also enjoyed a big moment on the field during New Zealand’s tournament-opener against Pakistan: the catch of Shaheen Shah Afridi, off Matt Henry, was his 100th as wicketkeeper in ODIs.
- Virat Kohli will be playing in 300th ODI on Sunday. He had scored a century in his 200th ODI appearance – against the same opponent – in 2017.
- New Zealand seamers have amongst the highest release points in the competition and in all likelihood will challenge Shreyas Iyer with the short ball. Recently, he has been more than up to the challenge though.
- Despite being the only side without a wrist spinner in their squad, NZ sit atop the spin charts. Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell have extracted the most turn among all the spinners in CT 2025 thus far, with more than a third of their deliveries turning over 4.5 degrees.
- Michael Bracewell is the leading wicket taker among spinners with five with more than 70% of his balls being dots.
IND vs NZ : Team News for New Zealand and India
India :
India only have a day’s gap between this match and their semi-final, but had a six-day gap between their previous match, against Pakistan, and this one.
Do they believe, then, that their key players are adequately rested for 200 overs over three days Or do they rest one or two of them And what of the players on the bench, and their match-readiness should they suddenly be required in a knockout game Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami went off the field with niggles at various stages during the Pakistan game, but both, according to the team’s press-conference representatives, are fit.
India didn’t train on Saturday, but Rishabh Pant had an extended session in the nets on Friday, which suggests he could get a game – he has only played one ODI, back in July 2024, since his return from injuries suffered during his car crash.
Given that as many as five left-hand batters could feature in New Zealand’s top eight, there’s a chance India may replace one of their two left-arm finger spinners with the offspinner Washington Sundar. If Pant plays and adds his left-handedness to India’s top five, it relieves them of the need for Axar Patel as a floater.
India may opt to make a couple of changes, though it remains unclear whether they will rest skipper Rohit Sharma. The captain is nursing a hamstring injury, but he appeared to be fine on Friday night after batting for an extended period. Mohammed Shami could make way for Arshdeep Singh, with Varun Chakravarthy potentially coming in for Kuldeep Yadav.
India Probable Playing XI : Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk.), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami
New Zealand :
Daryl Mitchell is fit again after missing the match against Bangladesh with an illness, and this leaves New Zealand with a major top-order headache. Rachin Ravindra, who was himself returning from injury, replaced Mitchell and scored a match-winning hundred against Bangladesh. Will Young scored a hundred in the tournament-opener against Pakistan. Devon Conway, who had replaced Ravindra at the top of the order, has also been among the runs, scoring 97 against South Africa in the tri-series that preceded the Champions Trophy.
The already-qualified Black Caps too will be tempted to give players carrying niggles a breather before the knockouts. That said, Daryl Mitchell, is fit again after missing the Bangladesh game with illness. Who he replaces in the XI will be a dilemma for Santner and Stead given the player who replaced Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, hit a fine hundred. Incidentally, Ravindra, who was injured before his return against Bangladesh, was replaced by Will Young, who also has a century in this tournament.
New Zealand Probable Playing XI : Will Young, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Latham (wk.), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, William O’Rourke.
IND vs NZ Fantasy Playing XI : Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill (c), Rachin Ravindra (vc), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mohammed Shami, William O’Rourke
IND vs NZ : Probable Best Performers in the Match
Probable Best Batter: Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill is seen to be in great touch, looking at his innings against Bangladesh and Pakistan in the first two games. The explosive opening batter smashed a solid 101* against Bangladesh and a stern 46 runs against Pakistan. Gill can play an anchor role and likely accelerate the innings at the start.
In recent times, Team India found a gem in Shubman Gill. the young opener is a huge strength in Team India’s top order. In the ongoing tournament, Gill is in great shape. In 2 matches, he has scored 147 runs with an average of 147.00. Against Bangladesh, he scored a magnificent century and pushed the side towards the victory. Known for his batting brilliance along with exceptional batting techniques, he can be a game-changer for the side.
Probable Best Bowler : William O’Rourke
Known for lethal pace and exceptional wicket-taking abilities, William O’Rourke is a gem of New Zealand’s squad. In the 50-over format, he has played 11 matches and secured 19 wickets with an economy rate of 5.67. In the ongoing tournament, he is in great form, taking 5 wickets in 2 matches. With those abilities and exceptional form, he can be an asset for the side.
William O’Rourke is a player to watch out for from the New Zealand side. He bagged a crucial three wickets against Pakistan and two against Bangladesh. This right-hand pacer surely has the potential to turn the tables towards the BlackCaps.
IND vs NZ : Match Prediction
Predicted Scores
1st Innings: 230-240 runs
2nd Innings: 250-260 runs
Scenario 1:
- India win the toss and opt to bowl first
- PP score: 40-45
- NZ: 250-255
- India win the match
Scenario 2:
- New Zealand win the toss and opt to bowl first
- PP score: 50-55
- IND: 260-265
- New Zealand win the match
The upcoming match between India and New Zealand is going to be a high-voltage one. As the match is set to be played in Dubai, the chasing side is set to have an edge. Both teams are in stellar form, but on paper, India looks poised to extend their dominance over the Kiwis and continue their winning momentum.