India plays New Zealand in the ICC Champions trophy final tomorrow at Dubai.
New Zealand, the perennial dark horses, have once again made to the final of an ICC event. It is astonishing, given the limited resources that they have got, that they have been so successful at these ICC events.
These two have easily been the best teams in the tournament. India is unbeaten and New Zealand only lost to India. However, there was not much riding on that game and it will count for not much come tomorrow.
If there was one team that India didn’t want to face in the final it, it would be New Zealand. They have been the bogey team for India in the ICC tournaments and in the recent past, they whitewashed India 3-0 in the bi-lateral test series.
Moreover, New Zealand would also be better off playing the group stage match agianst India in Dubai. They would be aware of the conditions and would have a better idea about tackling the Indian bowling attack especially Varun Chakaravarthy who was the wrecker in chief in the group game. New Zealand would also be very confident after beating South Africa comprehensively in the semi-final. In that match most of their batsmen scored runs and would be feeling confident about themselves.
The match, being the final of an ICC tournament, is likely to be played on a relatively fresh surface and expect to behave in similar manner as it did in the India vs Pakistan game or the India vs Australia game. It is not expected to grip as much as the one used for the India vs Zealand group game. This would slightly nullify India’s spin advantage.
However, given India’s all-round strength and the form they have shown throughout the tournament, India will start as favourites but not by much.
There has been no dew at Dubai and toss has not been such a huge factor. It is generally a good idea to put runs on the board in a big match such as tomorrow’s final. However, there are two factors that both teams would be considering before making a decision. The first one is India’s chasing prowess especially with Virat Kohli coming back near to his best form which made him the best chaser in the history of the game. The other one is Varun Chakaravarthy. He took 5 wickets in the group game against New Zealand and was bowling under lights in that game. And that played a huge role in getting him 5 wickets as New Zealand were finding it very hard to pick him under lights.
Because of the above factors, it would be a difficult decision to choose at the toss, and both captains may be wishing that they do not have to make this tough call.
There doesn’t seem to be many chinks in India’s armory, if at all. Most of the batsmen have had a hit in the tournament and have played at least one significant inning. Jadeja is the only one who didn’t get much opportunity to bat in the tournament, but that is the batting might that we are talking about where a batsman of the quality of Jadeja is coming as low as number 8, it looks a scary proposition.
The fast bowling department is well taken care of by Mohammad Shami and Hardik Pandya. Shami has found the groove after starting a bit slow which was understandable given the long layoff from the game. The introduction of Varun Chakaravarthy to the already strong spin bowling attack has proved to be a master stroke from Rohit and Co.
New Zealand also bats quite deep similar to India with Mitchell Santner coming at number 8. New Zealand have got two quality batsmen, Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra, in form and are more than capable of handling India’s spin threat. Tom Latham is another quality player who is a good player of spin. The strength of their bowling is in the seam bowling department. Matt Henry has a good record against India, he took 5 wickets against India in the group game and is the highest wicket taker in the tournament. He did pick up an injury in the last match against South Africa but is likely to play. In Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke, they have got two tall bowlers who can trouble India if there is some help for them in the pitch.
All things considered, this is expected to be a close game, worthy of the final of an ICC event. And as usual whoever holds their nerve in the big moments at the big stage will come out victorious. If I was a betting person, it would be hard to bet against India but by no means it is a forgone conclusion and it would be fascinating to see what is in store for us tomorrow.
