Dinesh Karthik Destroys Pakistan Cricket With Burning Jibe In Champions Trophy Final

India’s former wicket-keeper batter, Dinesh Karthik, reckons that the blue brigade won’t get the home advantage for playing at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium against New Zealand. He revealed that the soil on the surface had come from Pakistan.

India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, lost the toss and found them chasing the target. They didn’t start well as the Kiwis flew with full aggression with the bat before the spinners drew the side back in the contest with tight line and length.

Dinesh Karthik dissects 22-yard for Champions Trophy 2025 final

Dinesh Karthik, on Sky Sports, reckoned that the surface for the final would be better to bat on but not as good as the semifinal against Australia four days ago.

Also Read: Suryakumar Yadav picks Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli's replacement in Team India

‘First thing, the soil is from Pakistan. So it’s not exactly the home conditions for India. For the Pakistan game, it was a lot drier, but they put the sawdust here and rolled it. I reckon that it would be better to bat but won’t be as good as we saw the other surface against Australia.” The former wicket-keeper expressed on Sky.

“The spin will play a much bigger role than the pacers. Pace has got wickets, but predominantly towards the death overs. Not many teams have picked up wickets, but it’s the spin that has done the damage through the middle, especially for India.” The veteran revealed.

India restricted the Australian side to 264 runs in the first innings before chasing the target with four wickets in hand. Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja bowled well in the first innings under the heat.

Dinesh Karthik leaks reason to pick Varun Chakravarthy

Dinesh Karthik also elaborated that the right plan to bowl on these surfaces would be to aim the stumps, something which both the left-arm spinners, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, have done with the ball.

“Having got those wickets, they have put pressure on the opponents. The right way to bowl here is to bowl at the stumps because it skids through a bit. You think of Axar Patel, and his strength is to keep at the stumps. Jadeja does the same, and also Varun Chakravarthy, who loves to target the pads.” The renowned commentator mentioned.

Dinesh Karthik also revealed that Varun Chakravarthy had earned the right to be on the national side after his special performance in the 50-over domestic games over the last two seasons.

“I wanted Varun because he keeps the stumps in the game, and because of the skid available on this black soil pitch, it’s a useful skill to keep the leg before the stumps and bowled in play. Secondly, he is the leading wicket-keeper across two seasons in the domestic cricket. He has earned the right to be part of the Indian side.” The RCB head coach addressed.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma’s Coach Breaks Silence On Mumbai Indians Betraying Him For Hardik Pandya

“I think Mike Hesson has spoken a lot of sense. Under lights, it becomes tough to pick the variations. Not that it would be too easy to pick the ball in daytime, but it comparatively will be easier to pick what Varun does in the natural sunlight.” Dinesh Karthik added.

Dinesh Karthik and Nasser Hussain take a look at the pitch in Dubai ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy final 🔍 pic.twitter.com/wzAL7o2XZa

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) March 9, 2025

Kuldeep keeps India ahead

As Dinesh Karthik mentioned, the track looked better for batting as the batters could trust the pace of the surface. Varun Chakravarthy drew first blood sending back Will Young, before Kuldeep Yadav showed his magic.

The left-arm wrist spinner broke the stumps of Rachin Ravindra, who failed to read the googly, while Kane Williamson knocked the ball back to the spinner. In 23 overs, New Zealand was on 107/3 as Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham kept on building a partnership for the fourth wicket.