"He always scores runs against us" - Aakash Chopra on the middle-order battle in IND vs NZ 2025 Champions Trophy final

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that the Men in Blue and New Zealand's middle orders are evenly matched heading into the 2025 Champions Trophy final. While comparing Shreyas Iyer and Daryl Mitchell, he pointed out that the duo enjoy playing against their respective final opponents.

India and New Zealand will clash in the 2025 Champions Trophy final in Dubai on Sunday, March 9. While Shreyas has amassed 195 runs at an average of 48.75 in four innings in the tournament, Mitchell hasn't been at his best, aggregating 76 runs at an average of 25.33 in his three hits.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener opined that Shreyas and Mitchell virtually cancel each other out as No. 4 batters heading into the 2025 Champions Trophy final.

"If we see the No. 4 batters who can build partnerships, there is Shreyas Iyer on one side and Daryl Mitchell on the other. Credit to Sportskeeda, they have made a very nice graphic. Shreyas Iyer, arguably one of the finest No. 4 batters in the world right now, he has been playing very well recently, and scoring runs consistently," he said (7:10).

"He always scores runs against New Zealand. He scored runs against them in the last match as well. If we have Shreyas, they have Daryl Mitchell. He always scores runs against us. He is a thorn in our flesh. He got out in the last match for sure, but he keeps his best for India. So it's almost an equal contest," Chopra added.

The cricketer-turned-commentator noted that KL Rahul and Tom Latham are also almost at par as wicketkeeper-batters.

"We have KL Rahul and the opposing team has Tom Latham. It's again an equal contest. KL Rahul is scoring important runs. Tom Latham was in ordinary form before this tournament, but look at him now. He scored a century and then a half-century. He got out while playing the reverse sweep against us, but he is not someone you can rule out," Chopra elaborated.

Rahul has scored 106 runs in three innings in the 2025 Champions Trophy and has been dismissed just once. Latham has aggregated 191 runs at an average of 63.67 in four innings in the tournament.

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"He hasn't yet scored a century in an ICC final" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli ahead of 2025 Champions Trophy final

Virat Kohli managed only 11 runs in India's 2025 Champions Trophy Group A game against New Zealand. [P/C: Getty]

Reflecting on the battle between Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson, Aakash Chopra noted that the Indian batting ace would want to make his maiden century in an ICC summit clash in the 2025 Champions Trophy final.

"If we talk about the GOATs or the Fab Four, there is Virat Kohli on one side and Kane Williamson on the other. Virat Kohli has scored more than 1000 runs in ICC knockouts, but he hasn't yet scored a century in an ICC final. So this is the time. He is in good form. He has scored a century and an eighty-plus score. So a lot of focus will be on him," he said (6:05) in the same video.

The analyst added that the two modern batting greats are also evenly matched heading into the title decider.

"However, Kane Williamson, it again becomes an equal contest as he scored a century in the semi-final. He scored runs against India and is coming after scoring runs in the tri-series in Pakistan. He was the Kiwi batter who troubled us in the last match. Both are equally good," Chopra observed.

Virat Kohli has amassed 217 runs at an average of 72.33 in four innings in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Kane Williamson has scored 189 runs at an average of 47.25 in his four hits ahead of the final.