TimesofIndia.com in Dubai: Karachi to Rawalpindi to Dubai to Lahore to back in Dubai. Last few weeks have seen New Zealand play their four Champions Trophy fixtures at four different venues and they have only lost one game – to India in Dubai. Three days after losing the game, the Black Caps have landed in Dubai again to prepare for the title clash of the multi-nation tournament on March 9.
The two top sides in the tournament have had a contrasting journey to the final as New Zealand acclimitised to different conditions for all their games and India were parked in Dubai since February 15, and played all their fixtures at the Dubai International Stadium.
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Even in their only defeat, the Mitchell Santner-led unit posed a stiff challenge for India but fell short of the target by 44 runs. Unbeaten India have managed to tick most of the boxes in their outings but they will have to be wary of the Kiwis who are the most prepared team in the competition, and will definitely have a score to settle on Sunday. They have encountered different challenges at different venues and have come out on top in spite of the non-stop travel, and have excelled in the art of adapting to different conditions.
They did put India under the pump early in the group stage contest but a solid repair job and late flourish meant there were just enough runs for the spin quartet of Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy to defend. Varun, who picked a fifer on his maiden outing in the tournament, tormented the opposition batters but they did put up a fight and had Kane Williamson, 81, got some support from the other end, it could have been a much closer contest.
On paper, very little separates the two teams as they have a very similar make-up of the Playing XI and there is no dearth of experience in both camps. If India have the potent spin quartet, Santner has Rachin Ravindra, Michael Bracewell and even Glenn Phillips to play the support cast. And as far as quicks are concerned, New Zealand definitely hold the edge as spin-heavy approach means India are reliant on Mohammed Shami to do the heavy lifting and only has Hardik Pandya to do the support job.
More than the similar makeup and ability to seamlessly adapt, what would make India wary of New Zealand is the fact that they will for the first time play an opposition which has had a recent taste of Dubai conditions. The conditions which have been on the sluggish side and favoured spin. Yes, the seamers – Shami and Matt Henry – have enjoyed success but the slower bowlers have had a bigger impact on the match.
New Zealand have embraced the challenges without any complaints and have set-up a mouth-watering repeat of the 2000 edition of the Champions Trophy. Senior batter Kane Williamson said the team will take learnings from their last meeting into the final, and reiterated that anything can happen in the final.
“India are an outstanding team and is playing really well. So, look, it’s important we try and take away some learnings from that last game. Park this match, and in a final, anything can happen. And it was a great atmosphere last game and I’m sure it’ll be a good one again,” said Williamson after the win over South Africa in the semis.

On the expected lines, Williamson was asked a familiar question on the advantage India have of playing at the same venue. The experienced campaigner responded with the straight bat and chose to focus on the cricket they wish to play in the title clash.

“I suppose having played there on a number of occasions; there’s real clarity in how they want to operate. A little bit like our opportunity here, having played a number of times at this venue as well and I think that’s part and parcel in cricket. So, it’s just not something we’re really looking too closely at. It’s about the cricket that we want to play and take into account, obviously, the opposition, but be nice and smart come that final,” added Williamson.
New Zealand have few more days to do what they have seamlessly managed in the tournament so far – acclimitise and take the challenge head on.