How is Champions Trophy Final Pitch? Same one India and Pakistan played on back on February 23. Yep, they’re reusing that surface. And if you remember how that went down, you already know what this means—slow, sluggish, and a total playground for spinners. India’s got to be grinning ear to ear about this one.
A Throwback to the India vs Pakistan Game
Back in that big India-Pakistan clash, Pakistan won the toss, chose to bat, and immediately found themselves in trouble. The ball was just… not moving. Like, at all. Pakistan’s batters kept waiting for it to come onto the bat, but nope—nothing. And India’s spinners? Oh, they had an absolute blast. Kuldeep, Axar, and Jadeja took five wickets between them, turning the game into a nightmare for Pakistan. And guess what? Varun Chakravarthy wasn’t even playing back then. Imagine if he had been.But now? He’s here, and he’s been on fire. So, you can bet he’s eager to roll his arm over on this sluggish track.
The Dubai pitches have generally been tough on batters, favoring the bowlers instead. Just look at the numbers. In the four games played in Dubai so far, the average score has been 246. Australia put up the highest first-innings total—264 in the semifinal against India. And guess what? India chased it down in the 49th over, losing six wickets along the way. Meanwhile, over in Pakistan, where 10 games have been played, the average score has been 295. Quite a difference, huh?
Spinners, Spinners Everywhere
Now, let’s talk about India’s spin department. Chakravarthy has been in red-hot form, and with Jadeja, Kuldeep, and Axar all clicking, India is heading into the final with a rock-solid attack. Oh, and here’s a fun stat—India is the only team in this tournament to bowl out all their opponents. Four teams, all dismissed. That’s got to boost their confidence before facing New Zealand on Sunday.
Speaking of the pitch itself, there are 10 of them at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS). They’re all pretty similar—slow, dry, and loaded with help for spinners. The man in charge of these tracks? Australian curator Matthew Sandery. He’s been working on them, making sure they’re all in similar conditions. For the final, the ICC decided to reuse one of the pitches from earlier in the tournament—the one right in the center. It last saw action over two weeks ago, meaning it’s had plenty of time to rest.
The Indian Batting Approach
Of course, all this talk about the pitch means nothing if the batters don’t handle it well. According to Indian batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, the team isn’t too worried about the surface. “In every match, the wicket changes slightly,” he said. “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.”
Basically, India’s batters have figured out how to deal with these conditions, and they’re not letting the sluggish nature of the pitch affect their game plan.
So, there you have it. Sunday’s final is set to be a battle between India’s dominant spin attack and New Zealand’s ability to counter it. The pitch is slow, spinners will rule, and if India’s recent record is anything to go by, they should feel pretty confident. Let’s see how this plays out!
