Group A has not been overly competitive in this year’s Champions Trophy with New Zealand and India winning both of their games at the expense of Pakistan and Bangladesh.
But this game will be an important one as it will decide who finishes top of Group A and at the same time will determine who plays the runners-up from Group B.
Both New Zealand and India have not really been challenged across their two games in this competition but we expect all to change in this fixture with both playing a high standard of cricket.
Defeat for one team will not be the end of the road for this tournament but will certainly burst their invincibility bubble!
New Zealand Preview
It continues to be a surprise that anyone is surprised by how easily New Zealand have negotiated their first two games of this Champions Trophy and it was another comfortable victory for the Black Caps when they beat Bangladesh in their last game on Monday.
That match saw Rachin Ravindra return to the team with Daryl Mitchell missing out through illness but we expect New Zealand to be at full strength for this top of the table clash with India.
With Ravindra taking the Player of the Match award thanks to his 112 runs from 105 balls, it is going to be tough for New Zealand to work out who makes way for Mitchell and we expect one of Will Young or Devon Conway to be left out with Ravindra promoted to open.
With the ball, Matt Henry and Michael Bracewell continue to be the most consistent performers for the Black Caps.
New Zealand Predicted Playing XI:
Will Young, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke, Kyle Jamieson
India Preview
Pakistan were no match for India last Sunday as Rohit Sharma’s team got over the winning line with six wickets in hand and 45 balls remaining. In all, it was a fine team performance from India and they have so far lived up to their tag of pre-tournament favourites.
Wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was back to his best in the win over their great rivals, returning figures of 3/40 with Hardik Pandya the pick of the pacers. Mohammed Shami had an off day but the team management will not be concerned as he builds up his strength following a long injury lay off.
With the bat, Virat Kohli once again saved a century for a game against Pakistan and the consistent pair of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer both made significant contributions as well.
India continue to have vast depth in both their bowling and batting ranks!
India Predicted Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep YadavWeather Conditions
The temperature will be around 24 degrees from start to finish during this game even after sundown. Humidity levels will also be moderate and will not increase as the match progresses.
NZ vs IND Pitch Report
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Pitch Report
Pitch Condition
Balanced
Batting Conditions
Moderate Scoring
Pace Bowling
Swing
Spin Bowling
Average Turn
The Dubai International Cricket Stadium has good pace and bounce so overall is a good place for batting. Whoever bats first will be looking to post a total of 320+.
Toss: To Bat
Both teams are equally comfortable batting first or bowling first and the conditions look unlikely to change across this match. Therefore, we predict that both captains will want to bat first ahead of this game.
