NZ pacer Matt Henry doubtful for CT final
Dubai, March 7: New Zealand pacer Matt Henry has been rendered doubtful for the Champions Trophy final against India owing to a shoulder niggle but coach Gary Stead is hopeful that the in-form bowler will recover in time for the clash on Sunday.
Henry leads the tournament’s top wicket-takers’ list with 10 scalps, including a 5/42 against India in their group match.
The 33-year-old injured himself when he landed on his shoulder during the semifinal against South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday.
“Matt obviously landed on his shoulder and it was pretty uncomfortable. I guess the positive thing from our perspective is that he got back out there to bowl. We’ve had some scans done on him,” Stead told reporters here on Friday.
The coach was hopeful that Henry would be ready in time for the final.
“We’re going to give him every chance to be playing in this match, so still a little bit unknown at this stage.
“He’s obviously pretty sore just from landing on the point of his shoulder, but yeah, hopefully he will be okay,” he noted.
New Zealand lost only one match during the preliminary engagements, against India. Henry’s figures in that game are the best of the tournament so far. (PTI)
Hussain cautions India against New Zealand
Dubai, March 7: As India gears up to face New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final on March 9, former England cricketer Nasser Hussain has issued a stern warning, predicting a tougher challenge from the Blackcaps compared to South Africa, whom India defeated in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup final.
New Zealand’s impressive track record in ICC finals, including victories against India in the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2021 ICC World Test Championship, makes them formidable opponents. With six ICC final appearances and three Champions Trophy final berths, the Kiwis have consistently showcased their prowess on the global stage.
Hussain dismissed any speculation of New Zealand succumbing to pressure, emphasizing their mental resilience in high-stakes matches.“They will not bottle it, they won’t choke. We were having dinner with [former Australia captain] Aaron Finch, and he summed it up pretty well in saying New Zealand are never a side that beat themselves,” Hussain said on Sky Sports. (Agencies)
Kiwi camp wary of Varun threat
Dubai, March 7: New Zealand coach Gary Stead conceded that Varun Chakravarthy will be a “big threat” in the Champions Trophy final, and the Kiwis will put on their “thinking caps” to work on the ways to negate India’s mystery spinner.
India will face New Zealand in the final of the ICC showpiece here on Sunday.
“We certainly expect him to play after getting 5/42 against us in the last game. He’s a class bowler, and showed his skills against us last time and he’s a big threat in the game,” Stead told reporters here on Friday.
“So we’ll be putting our thinking caps on around how we nullify that and how we can still score runs against him,” he added.
In that context, Stead said the Kiwis will look to take some cues from the last Group A match they played here against India a few days back.In fact, he refused to read too much into India’s familiarity with the conditions here.
“The decision around that’s (the schedule) out of our hands, so it’s not something we worry about too much. India have got to play all their games here in Dubai, but we have had a game here and we’ll learn very quickly from that experience.
“So when you come to this stage of the tournament, I mean, we’ve had eight teams at the start, we’re down to two now. It’s always exciting to be in this situation and from our perspective, it just comes to a one-off game now and if we’re good enough to beat India on Sunday, then I will be happy,” he explained.
New Zealand, however, had to shuttle between Pakistan and Dubai for their final group stage match, the semifinal against South Africa and eventually for the final here.
Stead admitted it was a bit hectic but said his side was good enough to adjust to such schedules.
“There’s no doubt that coming here off playing Lahore and we had a full day of travel yesterday, then it just takes it out of you a little bit, but we’ve got a couple of days now of a little bit of recovery and planning and training towards the game.”
Towards the business end, Stead believes that it is more about co-ordination of mind and body rather than excessive training.
“I guess we’re deep into the tournament now and sometimes it’s not always a lot of training that you need, it’s just getting your body and your mind right to compete in the final and that will be our key focus over the next two days,” he added. (PTI)
Williamson vs Indian Spin: Key battle set to shape CT Final
Dubai, March 7: The showdown between Indian spinners and Kane Williamson will be intense on a gripping DICS pitch, but beyond the personal realm, it also has the potential to decide the outcome of the Champions Trophy final here on Sunday.
New Zealand is eager to end their 25-year-long wait for an ICC 50-over title after bagging the ICC Knockouts Trophy in Kenya, beating India by four wickets in 2000.
On the other hand, India are gunning for their second Champions Trophy since 2013 and they could be fielding four spinners and two pacers for the ICC showpiece final here on Sunday.The title clash could be played on the same surface that was used in the match against Pakistan, where spinners had found some assistance.In that context, Williamson’s impeccable adaptability skills and technical nous is vital for New Zealand, and he had produced a masterclass while making an 81 in the final group match against India here a few days ago.
New Zealand coach Gary Stead thought that India will pursue the four-spinner strategy in the final as well, which he termed “challenging.” “It’s probably what we expect for them to play against us, but we have four spinners as well within our squad and we think we’re pretty well balanced. But it’s always a challenge. They are very, very good spinners, all of them in their own right.“So, for us, it’s just being clear on our plans and working out if there could be a match-up that we are deciding within our team that it’s the right one for us to go after. So who knows, they (Indian spinners) might have an off-day as well and that could be in our advantage,” said Stead.But Stead also knows that rather than waiting for an off-day from the well-stocked Indian spin unit, taking them head on is a better option.
“We have to adapt to what’s going on within the match, but all our batsmen will have their individual plans around how they want to combat them.” It is true particularly against Varun Chakravarthy who has a bottomless bag of tricks – wrong’uns, leg-breaks, scrambled seam deliveries, and seam-up ones which are faster.In fact, he clean bowled Mitchell Santner with a 113 kmph seam-up delivery to end New Zealand’s resistance in the league match here a few days back.
“Sometimes a little bit of bravery to take, I mean, those options are on, so we’re certainly up for that, up for that challenge and that’s what India will bring. We know that they’ve got four very capable spinners,” he added.
So, Stead will certainly pencil in Williamson big time in his plans to counter Indian slow bowlers as the 34-year-old has a remarkable career record against spinners in ODIs – 2952 runs at an average of 47 with a strike rate of 86. (PTI)