India vs New Zealand Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: IND, NZ eye top-place finish in anything but dead rubber

India vs New Zealand Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Virat Kohli goes for a big one in the nets

New Zealand will travel to Dubai, which has already proven to be an advantage for India as it acts almost as their proxy home base (how much of an advantage depends on who you ask.) The Kiwis have gone about their business efficiently and with no fuss, as has been their way in ICC tournaments for many years now. An opening win in Karachi against Pakistan was a strong start, thanks to dual centuries by Will Young and Tom Latham, while Rachin Ravindra continued his golden touch in ICC tournaments as he announced his return with a fine century of his own against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. New Zealand’s batting has been consistent as ever, and they have had the boost of their spinners stepping up massively to add that dynamic to their bowling, with skipper Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell both impressing.

India have meanwhile spent a week in Dubai, all but certain of their progression since Virat Kohli brought up his 82nd international century with the winning runs against Pakistan last Sunday. It was a clinical and unsurprisingly dominant performance by India, who have played to match their status as the strongest team in this tournament. Add that to their win over Bangladesh, supercharged by Mohammed Shami announcing his return with a five-fer and Shubman Gill’s imperious century, and you find a team that is confident and in the groove. They will be aware this is their biggest challenge so far, and that they have a quick turnaround to the semifinal regardless of what result they produce.

India have made two chases look relatively straightforward on pitches that have honestly looked better for the team batting first, which speaks both to this unit’s ability to control the run-scoring of the opposition thanks to their three world-class spinners through the middle, as well as the comfort they feel chasing with a deep batting lineup. The quality of their top four is unmatched in the tournament, and has meant that the likes of KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, and spin-twins Jadeja and Axar haven’t even been called on so far. India might want to bat first and try out their capabilities setting up and defending a total, but Rohit Sharma will be hoping for a reversal of misfortune at the toss which has led him to lose all 12 of the tosses going back to the ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad.

Speaking of that tournament, both these teams will remember freshly what happened when they faced off at the Wankhede Stadium in the semifinals of that tournament. India set up a massive first innings total of 397, thanks to a fast start by Rohit and Gill, Virat Kohli’s record-breaking 50th ODI century with Sachin in attendance, and a late explosion by centurion Shreyas Iyer plus a bonus flurry of runs from the bat of KL Rahul. That match was an illustration of how this Indian batting can explode, capable of adding quick runs at both ends of an innings, thanks to the middle order’s ability to preserve their wickets while also scoring at a healthy rate through the middle. If you’re looking to create an ODI batting performance from scratch, especially in an important game, India have already perfected the template.

Of course, there was slightly concern from New Zealand’s own batting performance, Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell putting together a fast partnership of 181 runs before Mohammed Shami returned to break the partnership, ending up with an incredible performance of 7-57. Expected to carry the brunt of the bowling attack on this occasion, with both Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj missing from this tournament. Will Shami be able to have the same impact if he’s asked to bowl up front, sharing duties with Harshit Rana? Could be an important element of this game.

Largely, neither team would be too concerned by the result itself, even if they have a preference of the opposition they want to face. However, even relative dead-rubbers such as this can be momentum-killers, and equally set teams up for strong runs in the knockout fixtures. A match that will be analysed to the minutest details by both teams, and one that is still very much worth paying attention to going forward in the Champions Trophy.