NEW DELHI: New Zealand coach Gary Stead acknowledged that India’s ‘mystery’ spinner Varun Chakravarthy poses a big challenge in the ICC Champions Trophy final, as the Kiwis strategise to counter him. The ICC showpiece final between India and New Zealand is scheduled for Sunday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Stead expressed, “We certainly expect him to play after getting 5/42 against us in the last game. He’s a class bowler, and showed his skills against us last time and he’s a big threat in the game.”
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He further stated their intention to devise plans to counter the spinner whilst maintaining their scoring rhythm.
Stead indicated that they would analyse their recent Group A encounter with India for strategic insights. He also dismissed concerns about India’s advantage of playing all their matches in Dubai.
“The decision around that’s (the schedule) out of our hands, so it’s not something we worry about too much. India have got to play all their games here in Dubai, but we have had a game here and we’ll learn very quickly from that experience.”
Regarding the tournament’s culmination, he remarked, “So when you come to this stage of the tournament, I mean, we’ve had eight teams at the start, we’re down to two now. It’s always exciting to be in this situation and from our perspective, it just comes to a one-off game now and if we’re good enough to beat India on Sunday, then I will be happy.”
The New Zealand team’s schedule involved travelling between Pakistan and Dubai for their matches, including the semifinal against South Africa.
Stead acknowledged the demanding schedule but expressed confidence in the team’s adaptability. “There’s no doubt that coming here off playing Lahore and we had a full day of travel yesterday, then it just takes it out of you a little bit, but we’ve got a couple of days now of a little bit of recovery and planning and training towards the game.”
