Ahead of the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand, Indian batters focused on refining their skills against spin bowling, specifically targeting left-armers like Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell. They practiced with an in-house spin quartet, preparing for the likely spin-friendly conditions at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak highlighted the team’s ability to adapt to various pitches, noting that past matches demonstrated effective batting from both the openers and middle-order. Kotak emphasized the importance of strike rotation under challenging conditions while acknowledging recent successes in adapting their gameplay to different match situations.
On Friday, Indian batsmen worked diligently on their techniques against left-arm and off-spin variations as they prepared to face New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell in the Champions Trophy final scheduled for Sunday. The top and middle-order batsmen faced an in-house spin quartet consisting of Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja, before taking on a group of local spinners.
In their last encounter, New Zealand’s skipper Santner delivered a tight spell (10-1-41-1), while Bracewell proved to be a bit more expensive, finishing with figures of 9-0-56-0.
Together, the Kiwi spin duo has claimed a total of 13 wickets across four matches.
Rachin Ravindra also showcased his skills with a commendable left-arm spin performance, recording figures of 6-0-31-1.
With the pitch at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS) set to provide some grip for the spinners, the Indian batters aimed to leave nothing to chance.
Kohli is practicing against a left-arm side-arm thrower. He’s steering and dabbing, looking to come right forward while trying to identify the length early on. pic.twitter.com/VG9guvd2vz
— oxygen (@PBora146B) March 7, 2025
India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak mentioned that the track at DICS could continue to support the slow bowlers.
“Wickets do change over time, but this one hasn’t varied much in terms of its behavior. Our batting has been quite strong. In four matches, whether batting first or second, we’ve received valuable runs from our openers, and when they haven’t performed, the middle-order stepped up,” he stated.
Kotak expressed that the middle-order batsmen gathering runs during the semifinal against Australia was a positive takeaway.
“So far, we haven’t relied much on power hitting, which also held true in the last match,” he added.
Kotak emphasized that Indian batsmen have the ability to adapt to any pitch conditions on any given day.
“Our batsmen can adjust on any surface, which is crucial. I believe we can acclimate to the pitch; if it’s a high-scoring wicket of around 350 runs, we might play more aggressively since the ball will come onto the bat better.
“However, on a wicket like this one (at DICS), the focus should be on rotating the strike, going deep into the innings, and aiming to finish the game if chasing or setting a substantial target. I think we’ve managed that quite well,” he concluded.
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