ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Final IND vs NZ: Pitch Report

ICC Champions Trophy 2025 has entered the Final, where India and New Zealand will face each other on Sunday (March 9) at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Here, we are predicting the pitch report for the Final match.

ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Pakistan pitches were much batting friendly 

Pakistan hosted all the non Indian matches of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore was one of the most talked-about pitches in the tournament as it was a batting paradise, where bowlers had the hard luck. That venue experienced three 350+ totals in the tournament. If India missed out on the Final of the tournament, the ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy Final would be played at Gaddafi Stadium.

While Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium managed to produce only one complete match out of three fixtures, the National Stadium in Karachi set up three good matches.

Meanwhile, India have played all their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matches at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. As India won all their four matches of the tournament, they are clearly favourites for the Final. 

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ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Pitches at Dubai International Cricket Stadium

In the Group A matches, India beat Bangladesh and Pakistan by six wickets each. In their last group stage fixture against New Zealand, India successfully defended 249 runs and won by 44 runs. Against Australia in the first Semi-final, India successfully chased the challenging target of 265 runs. 

Unlike the Pakistan pitches, the Dubai pitch is much slower. Before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the pitches were used for other matches, so there is no fresh pitch available for the tournament. The Dubai pitches are more useful for the spinners, while the set batters play the key role for the batting side. The pitches aren't the best examples for the big hitters as it is difficult to smash the ball regularly, especially for the new batters. During the ongoing tournament, the dew hasn't affected at this venue, which makes the venue more difficult for chasing as the pitch nature becomes slower with time progress in the ODIs. 

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Final is likely to be played on a fresher pitch, much like the India vs Australia Semi-final pitch. If it is true, we can expect some better batting performance. But if the Final pitch reacts slower, spinners will dominate the game. While India likes to chase along with their strong batting potential in the first batting, New Zealand may face more difficult task in chasing.