India-Pakistan pitch to host Champions Trophy final between India and New Zealand

Team India and New Zealand will be facing each other in the final of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The hugely-anticipated clash is scheduled to be played on Sunday (March 9) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai.

India have qualified for the final without losing a single game. The Men in Blue began their campaign with a 6-wicket win over Bangladesh before beating Pakistan by the same margin. In their final group game, India beat New Zealand by 44 runs to top the points table. In the semifinal, India defeated reigning world champions Australia.

On the other hand, New Zealand have won three of their four games with their only defeat coming against India. The Black Caps began their campaign with a 60-run win over Pakistan before beating Bangladesh. In their third game, they lost against India but bounced back quickly by beating South Africa in the semifinal.

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Champions Trophy final to be played on slow pitch

The stage is all set for a cracking Champions Trophy final. With two of the best teams to take on each other in the final, the game promises to be a thrilling contest.

However, the Champions Trophy final is unlikely to see a run-fest as it will be played on a slow surface. While a fresh surface was used for the semifinal between India and Australia, the pitch for the final will be a used one.

The pitch for the upcoming Champions Trophy final will be the same surface that was used for the Group A league match between India and Pakistan on February 23, according to Cricbuzz. The pitch is expected to be slow and sluggish, making it difficult for the batsmen to play their shots. On the other hand, the spinners will get ample assistance.

In the group stage match, Pakistan could score only 241 runs after opting to bat first. In reply, India had chased down the total inside 43 overs. India's spinners had shared five wickets between them in that game. Out of the four games played in Dubai in the ongoing tournament, only one game has seen teams scoring more than 250 when India chased down 265 against Australia.

The spinners are likely to dominate the proceedings in the Champions Trophy final as well. Both the teams have a number of world-class spinners in their ranks and the game could turn out to be a very competitive one.

Recently, India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak shared his views on the pitches in Dubai, saying: "In every match, the wicket changes slightly. As a batting coach, how do you assess our batsmen's ability to adapt?

"While the wicket does change a bit, its overall nature hasn't shifted much. However, the batting has been excellent. And secondly, we've been fortunate to get solid starts, and on occasions when those starts were lacking, the middle order stepped up," he added.