At the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, the Finals of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy pits India against New Zealand. For Mitchell Santner of New Zealand, former Pakistan great Shoaib Akhtar and Shoaib Malik offer some advice.
As per Shoaib Akhtar, New Zealand should ignore the notion in the final against India that they are underdogs.
One should forget that India is front and that you are a lower team. (It should be remember you are the underdogs; India is in front of you.) Forget about not being great. Santner holds that philosophy. I have witnessed it in him. On ‘Game on Hai,’ Akhtar was said to want to win the championship as a captain.
In the opening overs particularly, Akhtar also suggested that Mitchell Santner seek to control India’s captain Rohit Sharma. Should New Zealand be able, The Rawalpindi Express believes they can take the championship in Dubai.
At the proper time, you have to act off proven suitableperms. You need to interrupt the attack. Rohit Sharma is on the offensive. He will seek to cancel out your spinners. He’s going after Santner. At that point, he has to lead his group as great;padding one.
I would claim 70-30 for India if you queried my opinion on odds. If New Zealand can bring their a-game on that day (they can win) as regards batting, their spinners, and their maturity, he said.
On the other extreme, Shoaib Malik noted New Zealand bats should imitate Steve Smith of Australia and how he managed the spinners from India.
Indian batters’ power to rotate the strike differentiates them. Even when pursuing a high score, this contributes much to getting them to a decent total. The innings Smith crafted offers a strong example to counteract the Indian spinners. Using the extra fielter in the circle, he came down the track and tried to locate the openings. Whoever enters 20s-30s should attempt as Malik was quoted as saying to reach 80s, 90s or 100.
