Mitchell Santner adds fire to Team India’s ‘Dubai advantage’, says THIS before Champions Trophy final
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner flew back into Dubai from Pakistan on Thursday night ahead of their team’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final against Rohit Sharma’s Team India at the Dubai International Stadium (DIS) on Sunday. While the Black Caps have played all around Pakistan and also Dubai, Indian side have been comfortably sitting at a single venue which has raised questions over impartiality of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Santner added fuel to the fire by adding that Rohit Sharma’s side have an obvious advantage having played all their matches on the Dubai pitches. “They’ve played all their games here in Dubai and know that surface. Obviously, the surface will dictate a little bit of how we want to operate. It might be a little bit slower than what we got in Lahore. It might be more of a scrap, but we’re down to scrap,” Santner said upon arrival in Dubai on Thursday.
25 years on, same stage, same opposition.
Ahead of Sunday’s @ICC Champions Trophy Final against India in Dubai, we look back on the story of the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy Final in Nairobi, Kenya #ChampionsTrophy #CricketNation pic.twitter.com/NeHmlC7Gnw
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) March 7, 2025
Team India are the only unbeaten side in the tournament while New Zealand have lost only one game – their last Group A fixture to India by 44 runs on March 2. The Black Caps had a very tough schedule as they had to fly out of Dubai to Lahore in the wee hours of Monday morning, just a few hours after their last league game ahead of their semifinal against South Africa.
Santner’s side put the fatigue of the travel behind them and thrashed South Africa by 50 runs to book their place in the final. It will be the first time that India and New Zealand are facing each other in the Champions Trophy final in 25 years. The last time that the two sides played a Champions Trophy final was back in 2000 in Nairobi, Kenya, where the Black Caps emerged victorious.
“We’ve come against a good side. I think we’ll be better for the run we had the other day against them. We’ve had a bit of a roll on. Hopefully, it continues,” the left-arm spinner added.
The Mumbai Indians all-rounder said that general feel of the tournament is such that New Zealand have flown all over the place. “It’s just the general feel of this tournament, moving around a lot. It’s all part of the challenge. I think we’ve been to every place here. Obviously, in Pakistan and Dubai. I think the guys understand it’s part of it these days. As long as you’re ready to go for the game, it’s fine,” he added.