Rachin Ravindra smashed only six against India, falling to Hardik Pandya while going for an upper cut, but the left-hander hopes for a better outing in the final
Rachin Ravindra (Pic: File Pic)
New Zealand opening batsman Rachin Ravindra feels adapting to the conditions of the Dubai's pitch against Team India will be the key in the Champions Trophy 2025 finals.
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Except for the group stage match against India in Dubai, New Zealand has played all their matches in Pakistan.
The Kiwis had also played two games in Lahore during the preceding tri-series involving Pakistan and South Africa.
The "Men in Blue" have played all their matches of the Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai and are familiar with all the conditions.
"We don't quite know what the Dubai pitch is. We saw in our (group) game against India the ball turning but the other day didn't turn so much. We found ourselves adapting and playing according to situations, which we will need to do on Sunday again.
"We will see in the next couple of days and hopefully it's a good cricket wicket," said Ravindra after an emphatic 50-run win over South Africa in the semifinal here on Wednesday.
Rachin Ravindra smashed only six against India, falling to Hardik Pandya while going for an upper cut, but the left-hander hopes for a better outing in the final.
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"You get out pretty much every time you bat. Hopefully I can bat for a longer period of time and continue to play well for my team," Rachin Ravindra said.
He is also aware of the expectations from the side in any big ICC event.
"Whenever you approach a tournament, you expect hopefully to be among the top four teams and lucky enough we have been consistently good over a period of time.
"We are happy with our preparation, coming here early, we can see we are cooking reasonably well. Trust and ability around the group is great."
Rachin Ravindra played a knock of 108 runs, which was his second century in the Champions Trophy 2025. Kane Williamson too scored 102 runs.
Daryl Mitchell, who played a knock of 49 runs in the semi-final against South Africa, stated that the loss against India in the group stage match was in the past and the final will be a new day.
"The final is a new day and really excited to stuck into that challenge and adapt to whatever conditions and surfaces we get on the day and find ways to win moments throughout that game.
"Hopefully, we can put some pressure on them and walk away with white jacket," he said.
Mitchell is not interested in poking his nose in the talks surrounding an unfair advantage to India because of playing all their matches at one venue.
"Just really happy with winning the game today and moving onto the final, it's an exciting opportunity," Mitchell said.
"That's the nature of international cricket. We do a lot of travelling and we are used to that. It's not for me to decided how the tournament should be planned. I am just excited to be in an ICC final and looking forward to play in a few days time."
(With PTI Inputs)
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