A seemingly invincible India will be eager to sharpen their game against spin and give a run to second-line players ahead of the semifinal when they take on New Zealand in their last group match of the Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday.
The IND vs NZ Group A match will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium from 2:30 p.m. IST onwards.
A win in their last league match will help India top the Group A. This will result in Rohit Sharma's men facing Australia in the last four.
The presence of five left-handed batters in the New Zealand line-up and the slight calf trouble faced by Mohammed Shami during the Pakistan game may force the Indian team management to play left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh in Sunday's game.
If Friday's practice session was an indication, then the Punjab pacer in all likelihood will replace Shami, who has recently returned to the national fold following a long injury lay-off.
While KL Rahul, in his interaction with media on Friday, was not very sure if India would alter the winning combination despite the temptation, assistant coach Ryan Doeschate, later in the evening, hinted that the bowling lineup could be changed a bit.
Meanwhile, the Indian batting unit will face a quality spin attack which can challenge them. The Indian batters have not been really comfortable against spin, despite two victories thus far in the event.
Indian batters have been clever enough to milk spinners for singles and twos while reserving the big shots against pacers when the ball came much more quickly and predictably at them.
But they will face 20 overs from Santner and Bracewell while a few more of Glenn Phillips' part-time off-spin.
So, the effectiveness of Shubman Gill, India's standout batter in ODIs of late, batting icon Virat Kohli, who made a morale-boosting 100 against Pakistan, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul against them will have a telling impact on the outcome of the game.
'New Zealand Cannot Be Taken Lightly': KL Rahul
KL Rahul has said a team like New Zealand can never be take lightly. They defeated India in the three-Test series recently and had also beaten them in the 2021 T20 World Cup.
"It's my first Champions Trophy and what I've realised is things happen really quickly. It's not like the World Cup where even if you don't start well, there's an opportunity for you to come back. But in this tournament, it's just really hard. You need to be really switched on."
"No game is easy or no team can be taken lightly. So, yeah, that's how we've looked at things in New Zealand. They've always been a very formidable team and a very competitive team. We've played against them a lot of times in ICC events and they've ramped up against us. It's been quite even in the contest," he said.
'We're Excited To Play In Different Conditions': Bracewell
New Zealand off-spinner Michael Bracewell on Friday brushed aside any talks about India getting an unfair advantage in the ongoing Champions Trophy by playing all their games in Dubai, simply saying that his team was "excited to try and play in different conditions".
Some cricketers and experts have said India are in an advantageous position as they have played all their games at one venue while other teams have had to travel to different venues in Pakistan.
"Look, it is what it is. It's been decided, and that's the way it is, and there's no point dwelling on that," said Bracewell when asked if India have unfair advantage in Dubai.
"It's part of what makes it exciting. I personally think it's coming to a different ground and trying to figure out those different conditions. Yeah, not much more to say on that other than we're excited to try and learn and play in different conditions," added the 34-year-old off-spinner.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025: IND vs NZ Live Telecast Channel
The Group A Champions Trophy 2025 match between India vs New Zealand will be broadcast live on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 2 and Sports 18-1.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025: IND vs NZ Live Streaming Free
The India vs New Zealand Champions Trophy 2025 match will be live-streamed on the JioHotstar app and website.
IND vs NZ: India's Playing XI (Probable)
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (Wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.
IND vs NZ: New Zealand's Playing XI (Probable)
Woll Young, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Latham (Wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (C), Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, William O'Rourke.
(With PTI inputs)
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