India will face New Zealand in the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday (March 9) – here's what the Betway odds for the match are.
The top two sides of the tournament will face each other in the title clash. India, riding on four consecutive wins – including a crucial top-four clash against Australia – has reached the Champions Trophy final for the third time in a row. Meanwhile, New Zealand, the runners-up from Group A, won two out of their three matches before comfortably defeating South Africa in the semifinal.
When it comes to ICC finals, New Zealand hold an upper hand over India, having beaten them two out of two times. The first instance occurred during the 2000 ICC KnockOut Cup final (the previous name of Champions Trophy), which remains the only time New Zealand has won an ICC final in white-ball cricket. More recently, New Zealand defeated India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2021.
So what tilts the balance in India's favour?
India enter the final riding on a hot seven-match unbeaten streak. Their four-pronged spin attack on the aging Dubai surface has been their mantra to strangle the opposition. Introducing Varun Chakravarthy into the mix at the tail end of the tournament has proven to be a masterstroke. This was evident when New Zealand fell 44 runs short of their target of 250 during the group-stage match against India earlier. Chakravarthy, playing only his second ODI, picked up 5-42, becoming the fastest Indian to take an ODI five-wicket haul.
India need to emulate something similar to stop a fearsome New Zealand batting line-up, which racked up a record 362-6 in the semi-final against Australia. That is backed by India’s superior odds (2/5) of winning the final on the cricket betting site Betway as compared to New Zealand’s 2/1.
Rohit Sharma's strike rate in the first powerplay in ODIs:
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) March 7, 2025
2019-2021: 71.9
2022 onwards: 119.5
The India opener has abandoned his cautious approach in ODIs, but have India benefitted from this change?@ovshake42 explores ➡️ https://t.co/WCxfjlN2Ei pic.twitter.com/6GhYgMeqpT
Which batters are capable of withstanding the testing conditions?
Despite entering the tournament with questionable form leading up to the competition, Virat Kohli has once again demonstrated why he is a proven match-winner in ICC tournaments. He scored a century against Pakistan and a crucial 84 against Australia in the semi-final, both in run chases. India would hope for another Kohli masterclass to cross the final hurdle, and cricket betting site Betway backs him to deliver, offering odds of 5/2 for him to be India's top batter in the match. Rohit Sharma is yet to score big. Backed by his coach to come good after criticism on his form, Rohit, priced at 11/4, could be a punt worth taking for the match.
New Zealand’s chances will depend heavily on Kane Williamson, who is their – and Betway’s – best bet to counter the challenging conditions with odds of 11/5 of being the Blackcaps' top batter. He was the only batter to show resilience during the collapse in the group game against India, scoring a patient 81 off 120 balls.
Rachin Ravindra, priced at 3/1, is close on Williamson's heels, having scored two centuries in his last three matches, becoming the fastest to five hundreds in ICC ODI events.
