By Karan Agrawal 
India is all set to take on New Zealand in the final of the Champions Trophy after 25 years, having faced the Blackcaps in the final of the Knockout Trophy ( as the tournament was called back then) during the start of the new millennium. The Rohit Sharma-led side will look to repeat the heroics of the 2013 edition, where two youngsters, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who are now the senior members of the team, contributed handsomely with the bat and in the field to guide India to its second Champions Trophy title. If we talk about the buildup of the match, there has been a lot of speculation about the Champions Trophy final being the last ODI game for the Indian captain. However, India’s ODI vice-captain Shubman Gill made it clear that currently, the team is focused on the final, and there hasn’t been any discussion about the retirement of Rohit Sharma. “Till now, we have only been discussing winning the match, winning the Champions Trophy. He has not spoken to me or to the team about this. I don’t think Rohit is thinking about it,” the India vice-captain said.
The Pitch
With the final just a few hours away, the most talked-about thing has been the pitch that will be used for the all-important game. A report in Cricbuzz reads that the same pitch used for the India- Pakistan match will be used for the final. If we talk about that particular pitch, the surface in question was sluggish and slow, with batters finding it difficult to time the ball. If the conditions remain the same for the final, then spinners from both sides will play a crucial role in the outcome of the match. As far as the composition of the two teams is concerned, both India and New Zealand comprise of quality spin attack with the likes of Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell holding fort for New Zealand with support from Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra.
Player’s Corner
On the other hand is the Indian spin quartet of Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja, who could come in handy with his accurate left-arm spin. Talking about the pitch and the conditions, Gill said, “I don’t think the wicket is going to behave any differently. We haven’t really seen a 300 score here as yet, and I think, irrespective of the weather, the wicket is going to be similar to what we’ve been playing on. And I think we as a team have got a good idea of how to play on those kinds of wickets and how to bowl on those kinds of wickets.”
The Pressure
When asked about the pressure that comes with the final of an ICC event, the right hander said, “I am very excited. This is my second ICC event for Team India and second final. So definitely I am very excited. I think the last time we could not do it; this time we will try to do it.” “The pressure of big matches is definitely there but as we saw in the last match, if we were to talk purely about Australia’s bowling attack, they didn’t have much experience. Yet because it was a big match, there was pressure. So in such matches, the team that handles the pressure well, that takes the occasion out of the equation and doesn’t think that they’re playing the final, their chances of winning are better.”
The Role
Commenting on the role of senior players like Virat Kohli and how he is able to handle the pressure of playing in a big match like the final, Shubman Gill said. “We saw Virat in the last match because he has played so many important matches for India, played so many finals, so many semi-finals the more you are in that situation and the more you have handled the pressure; you know that you have already done this. You know the pattern of the game. So, experienced players definitely come in handy.”