"If You Want To Beat India, Forget...": Shoaib Akhtar's Blunt Advice To New Zealand Ahead Of CT 2025 Final

India are all set to face New Zealand in the grand finale of the Champions Trophy 2025 on Sunday in Dubai. The stage is set as Rohit Sharma and co are eyeing their third Champions Trophy title, as they earlier clinched the coveted the trophy in 2002 and 2013. After remaining unbeaten in the tournament so far, India have an edge over the Kiwis, whom they defeated in their last group stage match. However, New Zealand also gave a dominating performance in the semi-final against South Africa and are expected to put up a great show in the final clash.

Ahead of the highly anticipated game, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar, in a discussion with Shoaib Malik, stated that the Kiwis need to forget that India are a strong team, in order to give a tough fight.

"If you want to beat India, Ye bhul jana chaie ki India samne hai, ye bhul jana chahie ki aap lesser team hai. (It should be forgotten that you are up against India, you should forget that you are the underdogs). You should forget that you are not good. Santner has that belief. I have seen it in him. As a captain, he wants to win the title.," Akhtar said on 'Game on Hai'.

"You have to do the right thing at the right time. You have to break the onslaught. Rohit Sharma will on the attack. He will try to neutralise your spinners. He will attack Santner. At that point, he has to handle his team as a leader. If you ask me about odds I would say 70-30 to India. When it comes to batting, their spinners, and their maturity, but if New Zealand can bring their A-game on that day (they can win)," he added.

Hearing this, Malik stated that rotating the strike will play a crucial role in the finale and also advised New Zealand to take an inspiration from Steve Smith, who scored 73 in the semi-final against India.

"What separates Indian batters is their ability to rotate the strike. That plays a huge role in taking them to a good total and even while chasing a good score. The innings that Smith played is a good example to negate the Indian spinners. He made use of then extra fielder in the circle, came down the track, tried to find the gaps. Thirdly, whoever gets into 20s-30s should try and get to 80s, 90s or 100," said Malik.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli Shoaib Akhtar Shoaib Malik Mitchell Santner ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Cricket