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On Sunday, March 9, India is taking on New Zealand in the summit clash of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. While the Men in Blue are coming into the finale unbeaten, New Zealand on the other hand, are coming after registering a solitary loss, which came against India last weekend in Dubai.
As the two captains, Rohit Sharma and Mitchell Santner took the field, the Indian skipper once again finished on the losing side. While it was India’s 15th toss defeat in the 50-over format, his Kiwi counterpart opted to bat first after winning the toss. Speaking after the toss, Santner said, Matt Henry is ruled out of the tournament.
Nathan Smith replaces Matt Henry in New Zealand XI for CT 2025 final
It is to be noted that Matt Henry sustained a shoulder injury while completing a catch of South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen in the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final in Lahore. Following that, he however delivered two overs, and later returned to the field for practice ahead of the final. But after winning the toss, Santner confirmed that Henry is ruled out with Nathan Smith replacing him in the side.
“We're going to have a bat first. Looks like a pretty good wicket, similar to the one we played India here a week ago. Want to get runs on the board and see what happens. Obviously expected a few blue shirts, great atmosphere, great ground. Going to be slightly different from what we got in Pakistan. We saw how India played and what they got out of it. Hope it slows down a bit later. Different guys have stepped up at different times. You want guys firing from the start and we have done that, as have India. Unfortunately Matt Henry has been ruled out, we've got Nathan Smith coming in,” Santner said.
India vs New Zealand ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Final Playing XI
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
New Zealand: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, William ORourke
