Published: March 8, 2026 at 6:18 pm
India takes on familiar foes New Zealand in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad on Sunday evening and the talking point is what will be the hosts’ strategy for the game.
Will India retain the same playing XI or will there be a few changes? There is a lot of speculation about retaining Varun Chakravarthy in the XI but former India opener Aakash Chopra feels India are not going to make any changes for the final game.
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“I’m going to say what Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav are likely to do because India have reached this far with Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakaravarthy misfiring. If the team has reached this stage without them firing, then imagine what happens if they do come good. So, there is no debate whatsoever in my head, and I am pretty sure India are going to go in the same direction,” Chopra said on JioStar’s Game Plan.
Varun needs to bowl a little slower: Chopra
What advice will he give to a struggling Varun? “Just look at his speeds in general, mid-90s is still okay. That is Varun Chakaravarthy’s operating pace, finishing within the stumps and bowling a little fuller means that if you miss, he is definitely hitting. In fact, over the last year-and-a-half, he has gone a lot slower as well. He has been in the late 80s a few times.
There is just one more game left, and one night can actually change your fortunes. I would still back Varun, but he needs to bowl a little slower. He is going too fast, says Chopra
“But in this World Cup, especially in the last game, I remember that out of the 24 balls he bowled, I think nine were above 100, and one was around 111. That is like Hardik Pandya’s slower one. That tells you that he is feeling the pressure a bit right now. There is just one more game left, and one night can actually change your fortunes. I would still back him, but he needs to bowl a little slower. He is going too fast,” he said.
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Indian spinners could do the trick against Allen
Chopra also explained how India can counter the threat of Finn Allen. “Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are the most explosive openers in this tournament thus far, and also the most consistent. They annihilated South Africa and decimated the UAE. I feel Finn Allen has a bit more in terms of pure class because if you give him width, it is almost impossible to stop him. If you keep bowling in that outside off channel, he will keep hammering you.
Allen basks in glory as New Zealand look ahead to World Cup final on Sunday
“The good thing is that he also plays with a straight bat, so he has more arrows in his quiver. He has a slightly wider range and he is dangerous. The way to stop him is probably by trying to finish everything within the stumps.
“Axar Patel, and maybe Varun Chakaravarthy a little later, should just keep finishing within the stumps. Because he is a very wristy player, that approach works for faster bowlers, but against spin you could possibly deceive him a little,” Chopra added.
Rachin Ravindra is a very different sort of bowler. He did not really start this World Cup with a bang, but now he is the highest wicket-taker for New Zealand in the tournament, says Chopra. Pic: ICC
Rachin has a rare skill, says Chopra
On New Zealand’s left-arm spin twins, Chopra said: “Santner has not picked up a lot of wickets, but he has been economical because he is smart and also does not generally bowl in the Powerplay overs. He changes his pace a lot and does not turn the ball much. But Rachin Ravindra is a very different sort of bowler. He did not really start this World Cup with a bang, but now he is the highest wicket-taker for New Zealand in the tournament.
“A left-arm spinner bowling around the stumps to a right-hander usually creates a natural pattern where the ball drifts into the batter in the air and then moves away. But with Rachin, that is not the case, the ball actually drifts away from the right-hander almost every time. The batter expects the ball to follow the arm and come in with the angle, but instead it hangs, moves away, and you end up playing away from the ball. This is a rare skill. He also bowls with a cross-seam when bowling to left-handers, like how he dismissed David Miller at Eden Gardens,” he stated.
