In the Champions Trophy 2025 Group A match in Dubai, the Indian cricket team made one change, replacing fast bowler Harshit Rana with spinner Varun Chakravarthy. Mohammed Shami was included despite speculation he would be rested. India, led by Rohit Sharma, faced New Zealand, who were captained by Mitchell Santner, with both teams already qualified for the semifinals. The match’s outcome will determine the group leader. Santner opted to bowl first upon winning the toss, while Sharma expressed a desire to bat first originally. Notably, Virat Kohli played his 300th ODI, becoming the seventh Indian to achieve this milestone.
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<p>The Indian cricket team made a single modification to their playing XI for the Champions Trophy 2025 Group A match against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday. Fast bowler Harshit Rana was dropped from the playing XI, and spinner Varun Chakravarthy took his place. Although there were multiple reports suggesting that Mohammed Shami would be rested for this match, the team management opted to include him, along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya, as fast bowling options. The squad remained unchanged with both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retained in the lineup. The victor of the match between India and New Zealand will lead Group A since both teams have already secured their positions in the semifinals. (India vs New Zealand LIVE Score)</p>
<p>Mitchell Santner called heads and chose to bowl first.</p>
<p>This match also marked Virat Kohli as the 22nd player overall and the seventh Indian to reach 300 men’s ODIs.</p>
<p>As both India and New Zealand have already advanced to the semi-finals, the clash on Sunday will determine who faces Group B leaders South Africa or second-placed Australia in the next round of the ongoing tournament.</p>
<p>After winning the toss, Santner stated that Daryl Mitchell replaces Devon Conway. “It looks like a good wicket. We want to put some pressure on early and hope it skids on well later. Our primary objective is to win here; we know we’ll be in Lahore later, but first, we need to do our job here and challenge ourselves in different conditions,” he mentioned.</p>
<p>India's captain Rohit Sharma indicated that fast-bowling all-rounder Harshit Rana has been rested, with wrist spinner Varun Chakravarthy stepping into the playing eleven. This gives India two attacking spinners, Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, alongside Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.</p>
<p>“I was anyway looking to bat first; I wanted to see what we could achieve upfront and then challenge our bowlers since we've chased in both our previous games. Our approach will be similar to the earlier matches, just trying to replicate our past performances,” he said.</p>
<p>“It’s all about bowling in partnerships; in both matches, we combined to take 19 wickets. Our spinners have effectively restricted the runs, and the seamers have claimed the wickets,” he elaborated.</p>
<p>The game is scheduled to take place on a black-soil pitch, featuring square boundaries of 63m and 71m, while the straight boundary is set at 76m.</p>
<p><strong>India's Playing XI against New Zealand:</strong> Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy.</p>
<p><strong>New Zealand:</strong> Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (captain), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, William O'Rourke.</p>
<p>(With IANS inputs)</p>
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