India’s familiarity with the circumstances from their three weeks in Dubai, the venue for all of their matches in the eight-team event, gives them a practical edge over the Kiwis in the forthcoming match. According to NZ all-rounder Glenn Phillips, India will not have any kind of justification for the tournament’s setup, which requires them to play all of their matches in Dubai.
On Sunday, March 02, India will play New Zealand in Match 12, the last Group A match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. For both sides, the game is very important because a victory would guarantee their spot in the points table, with the victor taking the top spot. With four points, New Zealand leads the field at the moment. The Men in Blue are also in the lead, but their net run-rate (NRR) is lower at 0.647 compared to the BlackCaps’ 0.863.
Glenn Phillips responded that New Zealand isn’t a side that would have justifications ready for subpar performances when questioned about India’s advantage in the forthcoming encounter against favourites India. The cricket player added that they have solid game plans against the Men in Blue and will use them on the day of the match in Dubai.
Nothing like that is a priority for us. The tournament draw is what it is, of course. At Saturday’s pre-game press conference, Phillips stated, “We have a no-excuse mindset to be able to come out to a tournament.”
“India has been given a hand, and you have dealt the hand that you have dealt. We’ll just make the most of what we have and never gripe about what we get,” he continued.
India has three excellent spinners, but the Dubai pitch is playing slowly: Glenn Phillips
Phillips, who is concerned about the conditions at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, where the match will take place, stated that India has good spinners like Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja, and that New Zealand has good all-rounders like Mitchell Santner, himself, and Rachin Ravindra. He believes it will be a fair match because both teams have most of their bases covered.
“We have strategies for defeating India. They are a really powerful team that essentially covers every possible scenario. Therefore, for us, it’s about examining the current pitches and past outcomes. There is clearly a lot of turn, and the pitch in Dubai is playing a little slowly. Thus, I believe the matchup will be intriguing. We have many all-round players, and they have three good spinners. Therefore, regardless of the circumstance we will be facing, we do have a lot of things covered,” he continued.
India
