CT 2025: Joginder Sharma confident India will emerge victorious against New Zealand, predicts an exciting battle ahead

New Delhi [India]: Former cricketer and 2007 T20 World Cup hero Joginder Sharma is confident that India will come out victorious against New Zealand in their upcoming clash.

India will face New Zealand in the last group stage match of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium. The two countries are eyeing the top spot in Group A, which will also help settle the semi-final permutations.

This match acts as a perfect tune-up for heading into the tournament's next stage. It's the only two remaining teams to have won every match at the tournament doing battle, and there's plenty to play for. The Kiwis and Men in Blue have met once in the Champions Trophy, and the Kiwis emerged victorious in that affair.

"New Zealand is playing good cricket recently, and it will be a good match. India is also performing well, and we will win the match... Our bowling side is a match-winning side, and the unit is doing well. Our batters have done well in the last 10 years. All of our batters, be it Shubhman, Rohit, or Iyer, are playing well. Virat is a responsible player, and he always stood up at crunch times. We also have players like Hardik Pandya, who can score runs quickly if needed," Joginder Sharma said while speaking to ANI.

On Sunday in Dubai against the Kiwis, India's stalwart batter Virat Kohli stands on the verge of adding another feather to his cap. The batting maestro will become just the seventh Indian star to reach the 300 ODI appearance milestone in the final group stage match.

Virat's dwindling form across all formats was the talk of the town during the build-up to the Champions Trophy. After a diabolical Test tour of Australia, Virat showed glimpses of finding his groove during the three ODIs against England, but it wasn't enough to silence his critics.

After a rustic 22 in India's Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh, Virat's much-awaited resurrection of form finally unravelled in the high-stakes clash against arch-rival Pakistan in Dubai.

The atmosphere reverberated with the echoes of his famous T20 World Cup 2022 heist in Melbourne against the Men in Green. With a shot struck clean as a whistle, Virat hit the winning runs, celebrated his 51st ODI century and became the fastest to 14,000 ODI runs.

In 299 ODIs, Virat has scored 14,085 runs at an average of 58.20 and a strike rate of 93.41, with 51 centuries and 73 fifties, boasting a best score of 193.

Virat has made a habit of breaking records in his illustrious career. The Indian stalwart is the fastest player ever to reach 8,000 runs , 9,000 runs , 10,000 runs , 11,000 runs , 12,000 runs , 13,000 runs and 14,000 runs in ODIs.

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