Champions Trophy final: How pitch for India vs New Zealand match was chosen

The big news is out. The India vs New Zealand final in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on the centre wicket of the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on  Sunday (9 March). It’s the same pitch that was used for the India vs Pakistan match in the Champions Trophy 2025 group stage almost two weeks back. India had won that match by six wickets.

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So unlike the India vs Australia semi-final on Tuesday that the Men in Blue won by four wickets, the final of the Champions Trophy 2025 will not be played on a fresh track. However, it needs to be mentioned here that despite the surface having been used earlier in the tournament, the centre wicket had not been in use for almost two weeks.

How pitch for Champions Trophy final was picked?

It aligns with the policy of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), which has adopted the strategy of giving two weeks’ rest to every pitch in the Dubai International Cricket Stadium during the Champions Trophy 2025, as stated in a report in the Times of India.

The Dubai stadium has 10 pitches overall, but only four of them have been used so far in the Champions Trophy 2025 and the final will be played on a reused pitch. It’s not clear why ICC opted against using a fresh pitch, but almost all pitches in Dubai are slow by nature and assist spinners.

“If you look at the pitches used in the Champions Trophy, the curators and ground staff ensured they get at least two weeks rest. Even when the ILT20 was on, the pitch used for the India vs Bangladesh game wasn’t used for two weeks before match day. Similar approach was followed for the fixtures that were scheduled after that,” a source told the TOI.

“The ILT20 was underway but the ground staff had an eye on the Champions Trophy. Not just the square, the outfield was given a lot of importance and that is why you have such a lush outfield even after so much cricket.” added the source.

How will the pitch behave during IND vs NZ final?

The India vs Pakistan match witnessed an average score of 243. The square at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium has also witnessed a lot of traffic over the past few months due to the ILT20 and the Champions Trophy 2025. This means we should expect another slow and sluggish pitch in the Champions Trophy 2025 final between India and New Zealand.

Also, expect it to favour the spinners, meaning India may continue with mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy instead of pacer Harshit Rana.