India will play against New Zealand on March 2.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has predicted that New Zealand can beat India in their group stage match of the Champions Trophy 2025. He reckoned that the Kiwis have all that is required to get the better of Men in Blue, but was not sure if they could make it happen on the ground.
“They can beat us, but I don’t know whether they will be able to beat us or not. I feel they will play not once but twice. India-New Zealand will be played twice in this Champions Trophy, once now and once in the final. The team (New Zealand) is balanced and they have three good spinners”, Chopra stated on his YouTube channel.
India will go head-to-head with New Zealand in the final fixture of the group stage on March 2 in Dubai. As both the teams have already secured their spots in the semi-final, this match will decide the Group A topper to finalise the knock-out fixtures.
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The ex-batter believes that India are set to meet New Zealand twice in this ICC event, once in the group stage and again in the finals.
Talking about individuals in the opponent team, Chopra feels that apart from William O’Rourke and Matt Henry, the pace bowlers brigade is a bit inexperienced. But emphasizing Kyle Jamieson’s previous records, Chopra has acknowledged that his inclusion might trouble India.
Jamieson has been included in the Kiwi squad to replace the injured Lockie Ferguson for the ongoing tournament. Looking back, the 30-year-old has scalped three wickets in two ODIs at an economy rate of 4.75 against India. The pacer had also bagged five wickets for 31 runs to knock India out in the inaugural World Test Championship final in 2021.
In the same video, Chopra denied all the speculations regarding India’s batting order collapse against New Zealand.
“Everyone plays spin well in their batting. It’s a phenomenal team. They can trouble us, but I will not say that they will come and beat us because we beat them in Dharamsala and the semi-final in the 2023 World Cup. So it’s not that we collapse against New Zealand. If they are coming after playing well, we are also coming after playing well. I see a very good contest on the day”, stressed Chopra.
Furthermore, the commentator opined that India should continue with their winning combination against NZ as all the players can carry on their good form into the knockouts.
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