 "After successful chases against Bangladesh and Pakistan, India wouldn't mind setting a target in Dubai in the ICC Champions Trophy. AP")
India return to action after a week-long rest in the ICC Champions Trophy, facing New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday in a meeting that will decide the semi-final fixtures for the ongoing event. Both India and New Zealand have collected two wins in as many outings, defeating Pakistan and Bangladesh to become the first teams to confirm their place in the knockouts .
Champions Trophy 2025: News | Schedule | Results | Points Table
Sunday’s clash will decide which team finishes top of Group A. South Africa and Australia finished first and second respectively in Group B after the former thrashed England by seven wickets in Karachi . Should the Men in Blue complete a hat-trick of wins in the Champions Trophy on Sunday, they will face the Australian team that is missing several key players including captain Pat Cummins, and is led by star batter Steve Smith.
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Sunday’s meeting will only be the second time India and New Zealand face in the Champions Trophy; they had previously met in the final of the 2000 edition (then known as ICC KnockOut) in which Chris Cairns dished out a match-winning century to help the Black Caps defeat Sourav Ganguly’s India by four wickets in Nairobi.
India vs New Zealand ODI head-to-head record
Matches: 118
India won: 60
New Zealand won: 50
Tied: 1
No Result: 7
What will the pitch in Dubai be like for the India vs New Zealand Champions Trophy match?
The pitch at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium hasn’t been as batting friendly a venue as the ones in Pakistan, especially Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, but has been a good one to bat nevertheless. Bangladesh and Pakistan had been bowled out for 228 and 241 respectively, but that probably had more to do with the skills of the Indian bowlers, especially their spinners.
A score in the range of 280 should be competitive, and the captain winning the toss might be inclined to bat as the pitch has a tendency to slow down later in the evening.
Impact Shorts
View AllWill rain play spoilsport in India-New Zealand Champions Trophy match in Dubai?
As many as three games got abandoned due to rain this week, two of them without a ball bowled. All of the abandoned games, however, took place in Pakistan – specifically in the Punjab province – and Dubai doesn’t appear to have that problem.
“Hazy sunshine; breezy in the afternoon,” reads Sunday’s forecast for Dubai on Accuweather in which the probability of rain reads just one per cent. The day is also likely to witness clear skies throughout the game, making for ideal conditions for a riveting showdown between the Men in Blue and the Black Caps.
Champions Trophy 2025: India vs New Zealand match time
The India vs New Zealand Group A match in the ICC Champions Trophy will start at 2:30 pm IST, with toss taking place 30 minutes earlier.
India vs New Zealand predicted XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Willi O’Rourke.