India v New Zealand: ICC Champions Trophy final preview

The final of the ICC Champions Trophy takes place at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday evening, with New Zealand hoping to cause an upset against India.

Rohit Sharma's side have enjoyed playing all of their games in the tournament in Dubai, while the Black Caps have had to mix playing in Pakistan with having faced India at the final venue during the group stage.

That group-stage showdown ended in a 44-run victory for the Indians, who made 249-9 before bowling the Kiwis out for 205.

India v New Zealand betting preview

India have all bases covered

All of India's games in the tournament to date have been relatively low-scoring, with the highest total recorded the 267-6 they made to defeat Australia in the semi-finals.

That was the third time in four matches that India have bowled first and their attack have done a superb job of restricting their opponents, with Bangladesh dismissed for 228, Pakistan limited to 241 and the Baggy Green 264 all out in the semi-final.

The left-arm spin trio of Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav have all played in all four matches and have helped limit the opposition batters without taking wickets at a prolific rate.

However, it is the addition of Varun Chakravarthy for the wins over New Zealand and Australia which added an extra dimension, with the leg-spinner taking 5-42 against the Black Caps and 2-49 in the last-four win over the Baggy Green.

Add in veteran seamer Mohammed Shami, who has taken a team-leading eight wickets, and India seem to have all areas covered.

With the bat, Virat Kohli has shown his quality in two of the last three games, making an even, unbeaten century against Pakistan and 84 in a tense run-chase against Australia in the semis.

Kohli’s fellow right-hander Shreyas Iyer has also been a key performer with the bat, making 15, 56, 79 and 45 in his four innings in the tournament to date and he is 1.83 to make 30+ runs in the final on Sunday.

Williamson and Henry key for Kiwis

While India have not put big runs on the board, mainly due to chasing lowish totals, the Black Caps batters have certainly enjoyed themselves in the competition to date.

They racked up 320-5 in their opening 60-run win over tournament hosts Pakistan, before easing to 240-5 to see off Bangladesh with nearly four overs to spare.

Their final group game ended in the aforementioned loss to final opponents India, before a boundary-laden semi-final saw them defeat South Africa by 50 runs after batting first and running up a massive 362-6, with both Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson making centuries.

Left-hander Ravindra also reached three figures against Bangladesh, while the victory over Pakistan saw both Will Young and Tom Latham record tons.

However, it is worth noting that India’s spinners took nine wickets between them in the group stage clash between these two sides, with only Williamson standing firm in making 81.

The veteran right-hander has made seven 50s and two centuries across his last 13 ODI innings and is 4.33 to be top team batter on Sunday.

With the ball, spinners Michael Bracewell and skipper Mitchell Santner have impressed every bit as much as India’s left-arm trio on tying down the opposition, while seamer Matt Henry has been the undoubted attack leader.

The right-arm pacer has taken a tournament-leading 10 wickets, including a superb spell of 5-42 against India in the group stage meeting of these two sides.

Henry, who is expected to shake off a shoulder injury to feature is 3.75 to be team top bowler in the final, while he is out at 19.00 to be named as Player of the Match.

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India v New Zealand odds

India - 1.40
New Zealand - 3.00

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.