New Zealand’s Kane Williamson reckons India have “real clarity” on how they wish to function in Dubai for the Champions Trophy closing, having performed all their video games on the identical venue however added that his staff may even be moderately well-prepared for Sunday’s finale.
Williamson scored a century because the Kiwis defeated South Africa in the semifinal on Wednesday (March 5, 2025), and fellow centurion Rachin Ravindra additionally shared his view on the Dubai pitch, saying that he feels adapting to the circumstances will likely be key to succeed on an “unknown” floor.
Williamson didn’t particularly say that India had an advantage of taking part in at one venue. Except the group match towards India in Dubai, New Zealand have performed all their video games in Pakistan. The Kiwis had additionally performed two video games in Lahore through the previous tri-series involving Pakistan and South Africa.
India, on the opposite, have performed all their matches in Dubai and are aware of the circumstances.
India has ‘real clarity’: Williamson
“I suppose having played there on a number of occasions, there’s real clarity in how they want to operate,” mentioned Williamson when requested if India go into the ultimate with an advantage of understanding the circumstances.
“A little bit like our opportunity here (Lahore), having played a number of times at this venue as well and I think that’s part and parcel in cricket,” he added.
He was referring to New Zealand’s understanding of circumstances in Lahore, the place they beat South Africa. New Zealand had performed two video games in Lahore through the previous tri-series involving Pakistan and South Africa.
“It is what it is (India play all games in Dubai). Our focus is the next match, the location of that match, the opposition, they’re all factors. Obviously, we played India once there,” he mentioned.
“The conditions are different, so it’s important that we try and take away some of those positives and be nice and clear in how we’re trying to operate come two or three-days’ time in the final,” he mentioned referring to New Zealand’s loss to India in the group stage.
Need to adapt: Ravindra
Ravindra mentioned: “We don’t quite know what the Dubai pitch is. We saw in our (group) game against India the ball turning but the other day didn’t turn so much. We found ourselves adapting and playing according to situations, which we will need to do on Sunday again.”
“We will see in the next couple of days and hopefully it’s a good cricket wicket.”
Ravindra scored solely six towards India in the group, falling to Hardik Pandya whereas going for an higher lower, however the left-hander hopes for a greater outing in the ultimate.
“You get out pretty much every time you bat. Hopefully I can bat for a longer period of time and continue to play well for my team,” he mentioned.
Daryl Mitchell avoids talk on venue advantage
Senior middle-order batter Daryl Mitchell, who made 49 off 37 balls in the semifinal, mentioned he was not in poking his nostril in the talks surrounding an unfair advantage to India as a result of of taking part in all their matches at one venue.
“Just really happy with winning the game today and moving onto the final, it’s an exciting opportunity,” Mitchell mentioned.
“That’s the nature of international cricket. We do a lot of travelling and we are used to that. It’s not for me to decided how the tournament should be planned. I am just excited to be in an ICC final and looking forward to play in a few days time.”
Gambhir refutes advantage declare
Earlier, India’s coach Gambhir had defended towards the criticism that India enjoys the advantage of taking part in all its matches at one venue, which helps the staff simply adapt to the circumstances.
“What undue advantage? We haven’t practiced here even for a day. We’re practicing at the ICC Academy. And the conditions there and here are 180 degrees different. If you look at the wickets there and here, the difference is between the ground and the sky. Some people are just perpetual cribbers. They have got to grow up. I feel that there was nothing like we had any undue advantage,” Gambhir retorted.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published – March 06, 2025 02:36 pm IST
