NZ captain Mitchell Santner highlighted that India is getting a lot of advantages just by playing in the Dubai Champions Trophy.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner told the media that Dubai offers India a home advantage, but he is confident that his team is ready to play the Champions Trophy final on Sunday, March 9, 2025. After winning the South Africa vs New Zealand match in Lahore on Wednesday, the Men in Black group reached Dubai on Thursday evening and are preparing themselves for the final.
NZ captain Mitchell Santner Interview :
Mitchell Santner said that the New Zealand team is ready to adapt to the slow pitch, because if you look at the pattern of New Zealand’s play, you will understand that they are used to the fast pitch for so long.
Mitchell Santner said after arriving in Dubai that India have played all their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai so they know the pitch, it might be a bit more like scrap and we are ready to scrap, the pitch in Lahore was fast but here it is a slow pitch.
A few days ago, India and New Zealand faced each other, with New Zealand losing by 44 runs. Santner said that the match was an experience for them that they will need in the final.
India’s trump card Varun Chakravarty has been picked up by New Zealand. All kinds of bowling action have been observed. It remains to be seen whether Varun Chakravarty will bring some new magic spells.
India is a good and strong team and we have come up against a good team. The previous experience will take some work and our team has improved from before. Hopefully it will continue,” said left-arm spinner M.Santnar.
Captain Mitchell Santner said our boys have been travelling a lot between Pakistan and Dubai, which is part of the challenge, but I think the boys have understood that and are ready for the final match. With India in great form and preparing for the final showdown with New Zealand, the Champions Trophy in Dubai has set up a thrilling final, with the Kiwis comprehensively defeating South Africa while India beat Australia by just four wickets.