India and New Zealand are set to lock horns in the Champions Trophy 2025 final in Dubai on March 9.
India will take on New Zealand in the final of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai on March 9. When they face off in the title clash on Sunday, it will be exactly a week since these two sides met in the group stage. India had beaten New Zealand by 44 runs when the two teams locked horns in the group stage on March 2.
Virat Kohli top-scored for the Men in Blue with 84 runs as they defeated Australia in the first semi-final. New Zealand rode on Rachin Ravindra (108) and Kane Williamson (102) to post 362/6 against South Africa in the second semi-final. The Proteas, in reply, were restricted to 312/9 after a collective bowling effort by the Kiwis.
There is a reserve day on March 10 if no play is possible or only a few overs are bowled on Sunday. If the match gets underway on Sunday and rain plays spoilsport later, the game will resume on the reserve day, picking up from where it left off.
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As per the ICC regulations, a minimum of 20 overs per side needs to be bowled to produce a result. According to Weather.com, the skies will be partly cloudy in the afternoon but rain has not been forecast. The temperatures are expected to hover around 20 degrees Celsius. If the weather forecast is to go by, the match may not need a reserve day and the winner could be decided on Sunday itself.
The only instance of teams sharing the Champions Trophy title was in 2002 when hosts Sri Lanka and India locked horns in the summit clash in Colombo. The match originally took place on September 29, 2002. Sri Lanka had won the toss and opted to bat first. Sri Lanka posted 244/5 on the board after fifties from opener Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara. India were 14/0 after two overs in their chase when rain played spoilsport.
The match started from scratch on the reserve day (September 30). Sri Lanka once again decided to bat first. Mahela Jayawardene and Russell Arnold scored half-centuries but the hosts were restricted to 222/7. Zaheer Khan was India’s pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/44.
India lost opener Dinesh Mongia in the third over of the run chase. They were at 38/1 in 8.4 overs when rain made its reappearance. There was no more play possible due to rain and the trophy was eventually shared between India and Sri Lanka.
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