As Team India prepares for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final against New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, vice-captain Shubman Gill hailed the current Indian batting lineup as the best he has ever been part of.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Gill praised the presence of stalwarts like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, along with the team’s remarkable middle-order depth, which allows the top-order to play with more freedom.
“I think this is the best batting lineup that I have been part of personally. Rohit and Virat are all-time one-day greats in the world. Rohit is one of the best openers in white ball cricket, and Virat is one of the best ODI batsmen ever,” Gill said.
He also highlighted the contributions of in-form players like Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja, emphasizing how their presence strengthens the team’s batting depth. “With Shreyas in such good form, KL, Hardik, and Jaddu, the depth in our batting makes it easier for the upper-order batsmen. We can play more freely from the top because we have so much depth,” he added.
Reflecting on India’s earlier struggles, Gill admitted that the lack of batting depth had put extra pressure on the top order. However, he believes the current squad has successfully addressed that issue. “This was something we struggled with in the beginning — there wasn’t enough depth in batting, so there was more pressure on the batsmen to bat long. But now the depth in our lineup allows us to play more freely,” he explained.
India remains undefeated in the tournament so far, while New Zealand has shown solid form under the leadership of Mitchell Santner. The upcoming final promises to be a high-stakes encounter, reviving the rivalry from the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy final, which New Zealand won. India will also seek to avenge losses to the Blackcaps in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup semifinal and the 2021 ICC World Test Championship final.
In their last encounter, India claimed victory by 44 runs after posting 249 from their 50 overs and bowling New Zealand out for 205 in the 46th over. Despite the UAE’s spin-friendly conditions, it was Matt Henry who starred with the ball for the Kiwis, taking 5/42 off eight overs. Shreyas Iyer top-scored for India with a composed 79 off 98 balls.
New Zealand’s captain Kane Williamson fought valiantly with an 81 off 120 balls but lacked support from the middle order. India’s spinners dominated, with Varun Chakravarthy emerging as the ‘secret weapon,’ matching Henry’s figures with 5/42 in only his second One Day International.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh.
New Zealand: Will Young, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Latham (w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, William O’Rourke, Daryl Mitchell, Nathan Smith, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy.
