The ICC Champions Trophy reaches its climax on Sunday when India meet New Zealand in Dubai.
The organisers have bent over backward to facilitate the progress of the favourites and they look on course to pick up yet more silverware, but the Black Caps are more than capable of causing an upset on their day.
Our first-class all-rounder Peter Sharland has picked his best bets for the decider…
ICC Champions Trophy Final Best Bets
#WhatOddsPaddy – Mohammed Shami and Mitchell Santner to combine for 4+ wickets
#WhatOddsPaddy – India to hit a six in any of their first three overs
Top match batter – Rachin Ravindra
Power Price – Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson to top score for India and New Zealand respectively
WHEN: Sunday, 9th March 9am
WHERE: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, UAE
TV: Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Cricket
India and New Zealand has become one of the more interesting rivalries to develop over the past few years and it is no doubt a match-up between the two best teams of the tournament. Of course, it would have been fun to see South Africa in the final, but this is a match-up that should deliver the best cricket.
We’re fascinated to watch how the Black Caps go about plotting the upset whilst India will have to deal with the pressure to deliver in another final. Can winning the T20 World Cup AND the Champions Trophy make up for that 2023 World Cup final heartbreak? Probably not, but it makes for an intriguing match-up all the same.
#WhatOddsPaddy – Shami and Santner to combine for 4+ wickets
We’re starting off with a nice easy one to get us going. Both Shami and Santner have been superb in this tournament. For the former it’s delightful to see after such an injury-hit period and for the latter it’s impressive to see his performances elevate as captain.
Shami has eight wickets so far in this campaign and Santner has seven. What feels especially relevant here is that both took three wickets in their respective semi-finals, a clear sign of rising to the occasion. This is also an encouraging bet because neither are going to be particularly reliant on the pitch, which is critical as we still don’t know what we’re going to get from the pitch for the final. Both bowlers can rely on their guile and intelligence even if the pitch isn’t offering them anything.
India to hit a six in first three overs
One thing we can say for certain about India is that even if the pitch is a bit slower they will go big and go early, captain Rohit Sharma loves setting a tone and that has been the hallmark of their white-ball cricket over the past few years.
You’ve got to feel that either he or Shubman Gill will look to take the attack to the New Zealand bowlers early regardless of whether they chase or bat first. Now this may well end up resulting in either of them losing their wicket but not before they’ve launched one over the ropes.
Top match batter – Rachin Ravindra
Perhaps a bit of recency bias here but Rachin Ravindra’s innings against South Africa in the semi-final was absolutely magnificent. Ravindra’s ascent on the global cricket stage over the past 18 months has been remarkable and time and time again he has shown that he more than belongs here and is prepared to be the leader of the New Zealand batting line-up when the great Kane Williamson steps aside.
The New Zealand star is currently the second-highest scorer in the competition and another big score here will cement his place at the top of the table. The nice thing about someone like Ravindra is that because he isn’t a big name he offers nice odds (17/2 at the time of writing) but he is also someone, like the bowlers we mentioned at the top, who can rise above what the pitch is throwing up.
Power Price – Kohli India Most Runs & Williamson New Zealand Most Runs
A fun big one to end on here in case you don’t fancy Rachin.
Kohli of course top scored in the semi-final against Australia while Williamson was the second-highest scorer against South Africa despite scoring a century. These are two true legends of the game regardless of what happens in the final and they both have a penchant for turning up in the big games.
If you think they’ll to do so here you can get a very tasty 20/1 – up from 16/1 – courtesy of a Power Price boost at the time of writing.
India v New Zealand best Bets
#WhatOddsPaddy – Mohammed Shami and Mitchell Santner to combine for 4+ wickets
#WhatOddsPaddy – India to hit a six in any of their first three overs
Top match batter – Rachin Ravindra
Power Price – Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson to top score for India and New Zealand respectively
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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