IND vs NZ Final: Will need to adapt on unknown Dubai pitch, says Ravindra

India have played all their matches in Dubai and are familiar with the conditions.

Rachin Ravindra
Rachin Ravindra
Press Trust of India Lahore
3 min read Last Updated : Mar 06 2025 | 2:18 PM IST

Dashing New Zealand opener Rachin Ravindra feels adapting to the conditions will be key to succeed on an "unknown" Dubai surface in the Champions Trophy final against India on Sunday.

Except the group match against India in Dubai, New Zealand have played all their games in Pakistan. The Kiwis had also played two games in Lahore during the preceding tri-series involving Pakistan and South Africa.

India, on the other, have played all their matches in Dubai and are familiar with the conditions.

"We don't quite know what the Dubai pitch is. We saw in our (group) game against India the ball turning but the other day didn't turn so much. We found ourselves adapting and playing according to situations, which we will need to do on Sunday again.

"We will see in the next couple of days and hopefully it's a good cricket wicket," said Ravindra after an emphatic 50-run win over South Africa in the semifinal here on Wednesday. 

Ravindra scored only six against India in the group, falling to Hardik Pandya while going for an upper cut, but the left-hander hopes for a better outing in the final.

"You get out pretty much every time you bat. Hopefully I can bat for a longer period of time and continue to play well for my team," he said.

He is also aware about the expectations from the side in any big ICC event.

"Whenever you approach a tournament, you expect hopefully to be among the top four teams and lucky enough we have been consistently good over a period of time.

"We are happy with our preparation, coming here early, we can see we are cooking reasonably well. Trust and ability around the group is great."  Ravindra (108) smashed his second century of the tournament on Wednesday and together with Kane Williamson (102) starred in New Zealand's win.

Senior middle-order batter Daryl Mitchell, who made 49 off 37 balls in the semifinal, said the loss to India in the group stage is a thing of the past not and the final will be a new day.

"The final is a new day and really excited to stuck into that challenge and adapt to whatever conditions and surfaces we get on the day and find ways to win moments throughout that game.

"Hopefully, we can put some pressure on them and walk away with white jacket," he said.

Mitchell is not interested in poking his nose in the talks surrounding an unfair advantage to India because of playing all their matches at one venue.

"Just really happy with winning the game today and moving onto the final, it's an exciting opportunity," Mitchell said.

"That's the nature of international cricket. We do a lot of travelling and we are used to that. It's not for me to decided how the tournament should be planned. I am just excited to be in an ICC final and looking forward to play in a few days time.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

Topics :India vs New ZealandNew Zealand cricket team

First Published: Mar 06 2025 | 2:18 PM IST

Next Story