New Zealand will be looking to clinch their second Champions Trophy title as they face India in the final of the 2025 edition. New Zealand batter Will Young feels that the team’s loss to India in the group stage can give them a learning curve for the all-important final.
New Zealand opening batter Will Young feels that while New Zealand have lost to India in the group stage of the Champions Trophy 2025, his team has taken plenty from that game ahead of the final.
Young has provided some strong starts to the Blackcaps over the past games. “There is plenty we can take from that (group match defeat to India) in a scouting point of view, especially in my eyes as a batter, but I am sure the bowlers got a good look at their (India) batters as well and how they are likely to approach things,” Young told ICC about the defeat to India in the group stage.
“It was a great opportunity to see the style of cricket they will bring, especially at that venue and in those conditions,” he added.
India and New Zealand have a rich history in ICC events, however, the Kiwis have always enjoyed the upper hand on the Men in Blue. They have faced each other in four ICC knockout matches with the Kiwis having won three of them and India taking away the only other game.
However, Young believes that the team that plays well on the day of the final will take away the prize, brushing aside the previous face-off records. “There’s been some great battles over India in recent history including the World Test Championship and the 2023 World Cup semi-final. We’ve had some great games against India. But to be honest, it is who will show up on the day, you can’t be too stuck in the past.
“We’ll look to be able to adjust and adapt to whatever challenges are in front of us on Sunday and hope the game we’ve got and the nerve that we hold will be enough,” he added.
New Zealand lifted their first ICC title after beating India in the Champions Trophy 2000 final. Young was only eight years old when the Kiwis won that tournament.
“There were some iconic names in that squad and those are the ones plenty of guys in this squad looked up to back in the day. “It is cool to be trying to achieve the same thing 25 years later. I was eight years old at the time and just starting to fall in love with the game. I am well aware of New Zealand’s exploits in that tournament and it was fantastic to see them win.
“I’m thinking back to before we boarded the plane to come over here, we had an unveiling of the Champions Trophy squad.
Scott Styris was there that day and told a few stories about the team and their exploits in that tournament.
“It was cool to recognise the past and that New Zealand has done this before.
It is just about passing the baton and hopefully, we can emulate them in a couple of days,” he added.