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The pitch designated for the India versus New Zealand Champions Trophy 2023 final will be the same surface that was used for the Group A league match between India and Pakistan on February 23, as per Cricbuzz. As is typical of many pitches, the Dubai International Cricket Stadium's pitch is anticipated to be slow and sluggish, offering maximum help for the spin bowlers, which Team India has in abundance.
India will certainly have an edge over New Zealand if the pitch ends up aiding spinners. During the earlier India-Pakistan encounter, Pakistan elected to bat but faced immediate pressure from the Indian bowlers. Spinners Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja collectively secured five wickets. While Varun Chakravarthy's role at that stage was limited, his potential effectiveness on this surface is a topic of discussion, though it's unlikely he wouldn't enjoy bowling on it.
The pitches in Dubai have generally favored bowlers over batters. The average first-innings score in the four Dubai matches thus far is 246, with Australia's 264 in the semifinal against India being the highest. India successfully chased this target in the 49th over, losing six wickets in the process. In contrast, the average first-innings score in the ten matches played in Pakistan is considerably higher, at 295, highlighting the differing characteristics of the pitches in the two locations.
India's spin attack, featuring the in-form Varun Chakravarthy alongside Jadeja, Kuldeep, and Axar will be gunning to spin a web around New Zealand batters in the Champions Trophy final on March 9.
Notably, India stands as the sole team in the tournament to have dismissed all four of their opposition batting lineups. The Dubai International Cricket Stadium boasts ten pitches, all meticulously managed by Australian curator Matthew Sandery. These pitches share a consistent characteristic: a slow nature that distinctly favors spin bowlers.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has utilised four distinct pitches during the Champions Trophy. For the final, one of these, situated centrally within the stadium, will be reused. Given that the last match on this pitch occurred over two weeks ago, it has had ample time to recover, potentially influencing its behavior during the final.
It will be interesting to see how New Zealand batters will counter the challenge posed by the pitch.
Meanwhile, right ahead of the Champions Trophy final, India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak shut down the chatter around India's undue venue advantage in Dubai. With India already consuming claims of venue advantage, the India-Pakistan pitch for Champions Trophy final might see more of such claims floating around ahead of the title clash.
"I don't understand what advantage there is and what advantage we have gotten. There is nothing about the advantage. The draw was decided a long time ago. When India have won four matches, then people are thinking we have been given an advantage. I don't know how to respond to this. At the end of the day, you have to play good cricket. If you don't play well, you can't complain. If you play well, there is no point saying there was some advantage. We are practicing here, we are playing matches there. Obviously, different wickets. That is how the draw is. Nothing else can be done. It's not like conditions were changed after coming here," Kotak told reporters on March 7.
"The tournament's draw is like this from the start. So, nothing has changed. If people think all this after us reaching the final, that's tough, man. That is how the game goes; we have played as per the draw. There is no advantage. You have to play good cricket to win," Kotak added.
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