"History comes full circle", "Another fight with our old enemy"- Fans react as India vs New Zealand is set for 2025 Champions Trophy final

New Zealand became the second team to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy final by defeating South Africa by 50 runs on Wednesday, March 5. The Blackcaps will take on India in the final on Sunday, March 9, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The upcoming final will mark the third time India and New Zealand cross swords in the summit clash of an ICC event. The two teams met in the 2021 World Test Championship final, where New Zealand emerged victorious by eight wickets.

Prior to that, India and New Zealand clashed in the 2000 Champions Trophy final. Chris Cairns' unbeaten century powered the Kiwis to a four-wicket win in that game. Reacting to the upcoming clash between the Kiwis and the Men in Blue, a fan wrote on X:

"History comes full circle! India faces New Zealand again in the same tournament final."

Another X user wrote:

"Here's another fight with our old enemy, let's see what happens this time."

Another cricket fan tweeted:

"India vs New Zealand in ICC knockouts Heartbreaking memories ! Champions Trophy Final 2000 - NZ won, CWC 19 Semifinal - NZ won, WTC finals - NZ won."

"Unreal Coincidence"- A fan points out an interesting similarity between India's 2013 Champions Trophy and 2025 Champions Trophy campaigns

New Zealand beat India in an away Test series in late 2024 and they will now face each other in the Champions Trophy final.

Interestingly, in 2012, England beat India in an away Test series, and then lost to India in the Champions Trophy final in 2013. A cricket fan noticed the similarity and wrote on X:

"India lost home test series against England in 2012 and defeated england in ct finals 2013. Now India lost home test series against New Zealand in 2024 and now in champions trophy 2025 ind vs nz. Unreal Coincidence."

Another fan mentioned that captains of India and New Zealand in 2025 Champions Trophy Final - Rohit Sharma and Mitchell Santner will soon play together under Hardik Pandya's captaincy for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2025. They tweeted:

"Rohit Sharma captain of India. Mitchell Santner captain of New Zealand. Both will play under Hardik Pandya in IPL."

It will be interesting to see which team wins the 2025 Champions Trophy. The 2025 Champions Trophy final will start at 2.30pm IST on March 9.