IND vs NZ Player Battle in ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Top 3 Key Matchups to Watch

There is no doubt that the Indian team is marching ahead as a probable winner of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. As expected, Men in Blue once again dominated after defeating Bangladesh and knocking out Pakistan and Australia despite playing away from home and losing the successive tosses. In the next match, a rival team and another likely tournament winner, New Zealand, is going to take on India. Although both of these highly competitive teams have already played one match, this fight is a spectacle to lift the trophy after a long time. Considering vintage nail-biting ICC events between India and New Zealand, the degree of trouble for Indian batters remains high, while outstanding performances have been recorded as well. 

The first meeting between Men in Blue and Blackcaps in the ICC Champions Trophy dates back to 2000 when New Zealand claimed the title after beating India in a very close final match by 4 wickets. Time and again, the winning streak of the Indian team was shattered by the Kiwis in 1st semi-final of the ODI World Cup 2019, a crucial match that slipped away from India when MS Dhoni got run out. However, four years later, India settled the previous defeats by facing renowned spinner Mitchell Santner and pace attack by Trent Boult and Tim Southee in World Cup 2023. With iconic centuries by Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, India had posted a mammoth 397/4, which could not be chased down. 

The current bowlers in the New Zealand team exhibited outstanding performances against South Africa and Pakistan. Although the Kiwis pulled off the Indian team in previous encounters, India has a solid line of star batters as well. Here, we will discuss key player battles to watch out for ahead of India vs New Zealand. 

IND vs NZ Player Battle

Rohit Sharma vs Matt Henry 

Rohit Sharma is known as a power play specialist. As a captain, he has a frame of mind to provide a speedy start to the inning. It is unusual for Rohit Sharma to accumulate an average of just 23 against a fast bowler. Pacer with a bowling speed over 140 kph, Matt Henry has been fatal for Rohit Sharma, who got out twice on his fair deliveries. 

Matt Henry’s legal deliveries extract movement during the ball landing on the pitch, and he also uses bounce as an asset to rule over batters. Initially, Rohit did not seem comfortable against Matt Henry. However, his temperament differed when he came up with a counterattack, achieving a strike rate of 200 in 2023. Overall, Rohit Sharam has had a mixed performance in front of Matt Henry, as he collected just 46 runs off 51 balls against his pace attack. Therefore, it is a key battle to be aware of when Matt Henry is bowling to Rohit Sharma. 

Virat Kohli vs Mitchell Santner 

Most of the successful innings by adept Virat Kohli have been attributed to his calculated and aggressive style against pacers. However, prone to getting out against let-arm spinners, this shortcoming of Virat Kohli has been exposed on a lot of occasions. New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner is one of the genius spinners who grips the ball to take a couple of wickets in a match and concede runs at a slower rate of economy. 

In the last ODI match against India, Mitchell Santner got just one wicket, but he was less expensive than other bowlers. His tremendous spin bowling has caused trouble to Virat Kohli three times, including two successive dismissals when Santner bowled King Kohli at 8 (10) and stumped at 11 (9). It is rare for Kohli to play so many dot balls, but he is mostly in defensive mode, considering 109 dot balls against Santner. As Virat Kohli has been seen struggling against Santner’s magical spells, it is a key battle to look out for. 

Shubman Gill vs Mitchell Santner 

A rising batter in the Indian squad, Shubman Gill has achieved good records against Mitchell Santner in the ODI format. While pacer Will O’Rourke has appeared only in one match against India in ODI, Mitchell Santner has played for more than seven years against Indian batters. Staying unbeaten, Gill did not fall prey to fair deliveries by Santner, who usually takes wickets against the Indian team. With 14 wickets against India in 23 ODIs, Indian batters have been taken aback when Santner takes the charge. However, Shubman Gill scored runs with an impressive strike rate of 110.6 against Santner. These marvelous innings included 4 huge sixes and 10 down-the-ground shots. 

A remarkable inning by Shubman Gill was his double century as an opener, hitting 208 runs off 149 balls. All bowlers, including Santner, could not trap Gill when New Zealand was on a tour to India. As in big tournaments, New Zealand have been there to outperform; it is one more key matchup to consider as Shubman Gill has not yet given away his wicket to Mitchell Santner.