WEBDESK: The top spot in Group A in the Champions Trophy will be decided on Sunday in Dubai with India playing against New Zealand.
Both New Zealand and India have booked their place in the Champions Trophy semi-finals. But first they must face off to determine who tops group A. This will also help set up the matches for the semi-finals.
Both teams are the only two remaining teams at the tournament to have won all their matches at the tournament so far but there’s still plenty to play for.
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India: After their strong win against Pakistan last time out in the Champions Trophy, they now have nine wins out of ten so far this calendar year.
While they can afford to drop the IND vs NZ game, winning against a fellow title contender would be a huge morale boost going in to the semi-finals of the tournament.
New Zealand: Similar to India, New Zealand are one of the most in-form teams in the world right now. They’re played eight One-Day Internationals this year and only lost one of them, which was against Sri Lanka in a 2-1 series win in January.
Coming in to the tournament, New Zealand won all three games in the tri-nation series against both Pakistan and South Africa. As for their previous group matches, they won both of them with ease to qualify for the semi-finals.
Player spotlight for Ind vs NZ game
India: Muhammad Shami
India’s opening bowler completely dominated the Bangladeshi batting lineup with his 5-wicket haul before going wicketless against Pakistan.
In the Pakistan game, it was the Indian spinners who did the damage but if Muhammad Shami can grab a quick wicket or two in the Ind vs NZ game, the spinners can completely take over in the middle phase of the game.
New Zealand: Michael Bracewell
Bracewell is unquestionably in focus for the Ind vs NZ game after returns of 4/26 off 10 overs against Bangladesh. He supported the Kiwis’ pace attack and took advantage of the Bangladeshi batters who were trying to target the slower bowlers.
Although he only took one wicket against Pakistan, it was his economic bowling that stood out. The right-arm off-spinner will have to do much of the same against a strong Indian batting lineup.
Squads for Ind vs NZ game:
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Jacob Duffy
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy
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