India vs New Zealand Winner In Champions Trophy 2025 Final Picked By Ex-Pakistan Captain

Pakistan’s former captain, Sarfaraz Khan, who blew away India during the last final of the Champions Trophy 2017 at the Kennington Oval in South London, has picked his probable winner between the two finalists of the upcoming final of the 2025 season at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on March 09.

Both the sides have displayed fiery performances in all three departments of the game. India has qualified in the final with an unbeaten run, while the only defeat for the Blackcaps came against the Rohit Sharma-led side in the group-stage encounter.

India’s unbeaten run to the Champions Trophy 2025 final

Under Rohit, India started with a fine victory against Bangladesh, thanks to Mohammed Shami’s five-wicket haul and Shubman Gill’s unbeaten century in the second innings in Dubai. The blue brigade came into the tournament with a clean sweep 3-0 series victory over England at home.

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They carried the same momentum in the second mouth-watering clash against Pakistan, who, despite getting an early advantage, couldn’t keep themselves ahead of the contest. Khusdil Shah’s struggling knock was not enough to provide a decent score to the Indian side, who went over the line thanks to the masterclass century from Virat Kohli.

Rohit changed the plan and went with four spinners against New Zealand in the third group-stage encounter. Varun Chakravarthy, coming into the side, picked up five wickets in the second innings as they claimed a fine 44-run victory against the Blackcaps.

The semifinal against Australia was expected to be a close encounter. Chasing 265, the 2013 title winners almost lost their plot in the middle overs before Virat Kohli’s 84-run knock and Shreyas Iyer’s fifty pushed them near victory before Hardik Pandya’s crazy batting shouldered them over the line with four wickets in hand.

New Zealand slipped in India’s spin trap

The Blackcaps had nearly converted Pakistan to their new home. With three successive victories, they won the tri-series against the hosts to gain confidence and channelized the performance in the event opener against the Green Brigade at the National Stadium in Karachi.

A few days later, another superb performance saw them gaining their second successive victory in the tournament against Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Even on a flat surface, their bowlers used their conditions well to restrict the opponents to a reasonably low score.

The defeat against India meant the Kiwis would face South Africa in the semifinal at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra’s twin centuries fired the side to over 350 run mark, and that was always a huge ask for the Proteas, who couldn’t get to the final winning score even after the unbeaten century from David Miller.

Sarfaraz Ahmed picks India as the winner against New Zealand in the final

The former Pakistani captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, was asked to share any tips for the Blackcaps since he was the leader of the side that beat the Blue Brigade in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.

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“Bhaii hamara Jo hona tha ho gaya (Bro, we have already done our bit). You have to be good in all 3 departments to beat a great team like India.” Ahmed expressed in a statement.

Rohit has fired up in small contributions against most of the opponents in the eight-team tournament this season, but he will hope for a big score in the final. Virat Kohli, who smashed an 84 and an unbeaten century in the tournament so far, will also hope for the same glory in the competition’s final.