Playing for the title at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, both teams will have an opportunity to break their title drought in the ODI format.
We have seen many times that the host team of any tournament does not reach the final. But it is a rare sight that the final of the tournament does not take place in the host country.
The same situation is also happening in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy cricket. The ICC Cricket Trophy, which started in Pakistan, is being concluded outside Pakistan. Since the Indian cricket team will not be playing in Pakistan, the matches involving India are being played in Dubai.
Since India has already qualified for the final, the match will be played outside Pakistan, namely at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. India will play the same old rival, New Zealand, for the title.
India has made it to the final by defeating its well-known rivals, Australia and New Zealand, by defeating South Africa. Who will win this tournament, also called the ‘mini World Cup’?
Will India win the ICC ODI event title after a long time, or will New Zealand, which has been waiting for the title longer than India, win?
This is the history
The second edition of this tournament, which started in 1998 as the ICC Knockout Tournament, was won by New Zealand; that is, the 2000 edition was won by New Zealand.
Coincidentally, New Zealand won the ICC tournament title for the first time by defeating India in the final at that time. Now, after 25 years, New Zealand has an opportunity to repeat history.
Similarly, there is also an opportunity to break the long-standing drought of the ICC limited-overs tournament. To turn that opportunity into a final result, the Kiwi team will have to defeat a strong Indian team.
On the other hand, India will also have an opportunity to win the ICC tournament in the ODI format after a long time. India last won the Champions Trophy in 2013.
Since then, India has not been able to win any other ICC event except last year’s T20 World Cup. During this period, India has been deprived of the title by losing twice in the semi-finals to Australia and twice to New Zealand.
India, which was knocked out of the 2015 ODI World Cup after losing to Australia in the semi-finals, was shocked by New Zealand in 2019, and despite beating New Zealand in the 2023 semi-finals, it lost to Australia in the final.
Meanwhile, it also lost to New Zealand in the 2021 Test Championship final.
Current performance
At the beginning of this tournament, both teams were in the same group. Of the two teams in Group A, India is undefeated, while New Zealand suffered its only defeat in the group stage to India.
New Zealand, which defeated Bangladesh and Pakistan, became the group runners-up by losing to India. New Zealand reached the final with a brilliant victory over South Africa in the semi-finals.
New Zealand’s batting lineup looks strong, and the bowling rotation also looks good. New Zealand, who performed well in the group stage against India, suffered a defeat due to their poor batting.
Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson, the opening batsmen, are in excellent form and can pose a significant challenge to the Indian bowlers. Along with Kane, Tom Latham plays spin well, so if these players bat well, India will be under pressure.
On the bowling front, experienced Matt Henry is handling the pace, and captain Mitchell Santner is handling the spin attack. They have good support from other bowlers as well.
Similarly, India, which defeated Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand in the group stage, has set its journey to the final by defeating Australia in the semi-finals. India wants to remain undefeated and become champions.
Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer are the strong sides for India in batting. Along with Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarty is doing well in bowling, while all-rounder Axar Patel has been contributing in both batting and bowling, putting the opposition under pressure.
This final will undoubtedly be an intense match. Although India has been playing at the same ground since the beginning, it will not be a difference as New Zealand has also played at this ground once.
Head to head so far
India and New Zealand have played a total of 118 times in ODIs so far, in which India has won 61 matches and New Zealand has won 50 matches. There was one draw, and seven matches were resultless.
These two teams have faced each other a total of 13 times in the ICC Cricket World Cup and Champions Trophy, in which India and New Zealand have won 6 matches each, and one match has been drawn.
The two teams have met 3 times in the knockout matches of the ICC ODI tournament so far, where New Zealand has won 2 matches and India has won 1 match.
New Zealand won the 2000 Champions Trophy final and the 2019 World Cup semi-final, while India’s one victory was in the 2023 World Cup semi-final.