"Will win, prayers of 140 cr Indians are with team": Maharashtra CM Fadnavis on Ind Vs NZ finals

Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], March 9 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday expressed confidence in India's victory against New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy and said that the entire nation is rooting for them and that 140 crore people are praying for the team.
Speaking to ANI, Devendra Fadnavis said, "India will win. We are with (team) India, and the prayers of 140 crore people are with (team) India. The way the team is performing, I feel we will definitely win."
Meanwhile, New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner won the toss and opted to bat first in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final against India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
At the time of the toss, Santner confirmed that Matt Henry had been ruled out of this game as he had not recovered from the injury he sustained during the semi-final clash against South Africa.
India and New Zealand will vie for the ultimate glory at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, meeting in the summit clash on Sunday, 9 March, in Dubai.
India has had a seamless run to the final, remaining unbeaten. They bested Australia in the semi-final to punch their ticket for the final.
Men in Blue skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed at the time of the toss that they are going with the same line-up that played the last match.
Despite their loss against India in the group stage, New Zealand have also been impressive in all departments and arrive in the final on the back of a comprehensive win over South Africa in the final four.
Cricket fans gathered in huge numbers outside the Dubai International Stadium to support their teams. India will face New Zealand in the finals of the Champions Trophy 2025 at the stadium.
Both teams were in Group A and faced each other in the group stage, where India defeated New Zealand by 44 runs. Varun Chalravarthy was announced as the player of the match for his brilliant fifer. India was undefeated in the group stage, with six points, and New Zealand finished second with four points.
"We are looking for a really exciting one today. We were in the finals last year, so I just think we need to change the tempo and have a good knock today. India should have a good one today," a fan told ANI.
Fans said they were excited for the final match and wanted Virat Kohli to perform well. They are also rooting for Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravinder Jadeja. Kishore, a fan visiting from Dallas, said, "I am here to cheer for Kohli. I hope he performs one more time. He was good in the quarter, I mean, against New Zealand, Pakistan, and Australia- and I hope he does well one more time and gives the Champion's Trophy back to India. We are all excited, cheering for Kohli, Rohit, and Jaddu. Hopefully, the trio will do well."
Veral from Mumbai said, "We love India, want India to make history, and want India to break the jinx of Sunday. Go, India, go Kohli."One fan said that he believes that the cup is in India's hand and that India will avenge MS Dhoni's 2019 World Cup semifinal runout against the Kiwis.
Prior to the game, both teams arrived at the Dubai International Stadium earlier today with the security team.
The New Zealand team (Playing XI) includes: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Kyle Jamieson, William O'Rourke, and Nathan Smith.
Team India (Playing XI) includes: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy. (ANI)