Unbeaten India to face record-setting New Zealand for glory in Pakistan-hosted Champions Trophy

DUBAI: India playing all their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai was a pre-tournament decision and the talk of unfair advantage is baseless, the team’s batting coach has said.

Rohit Sharma’s team face New Zealand in the title clash on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium, where India have been unbeaten in four matches.

India refused to tour hosts Pakistan in the eight-nation tournament due to political tensions and were given Dubai as their venue in the United Arab Emirates.

“The draw that happened, it happened before,” batting coach Sitanshu Kotak told reporters. “After India winning four matches, if people feel that there is an advantage, then I don’t know what to say about it.”

The tournament’s tangled schedule, with teams flying in and out of the UAE from Pakistan while India have stayed put, has been hugely controversial.

South Africa batsman David Miller said “it was not an ideal situation” for his team to fly in to Dubai to wait on India’s semifinal opponent and then fly back to Lahore in less than 24 hours.

Even nominal hosts Pakistan had to jump on a jet and fly to Dubai to play India, rather than face them on home soil.

The pitches have been vastly different in the two countries. Pakistan tracks produced big totals, in contrast to the slow and turning decks of the Dubai stadium.

“End of the day, I think in a game, you have to play good cricket every day when you turn up,” the 52-year-old Kotak said. “So the only thing they (critics) may say is that we play here. But that is how the draw is.”

“So nothing else can happen in that. It is not that after coming here, they changed something and we got an advantage,” he added.

India have been the team to beat after they topped Group A, which had New Zealand, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

They then beat Australia in the first semifinal.

New Zealand, led by Mitchell Santner, lost the last group game to India by 44 runs before they beat South Africa in the second semifinal in Lahore.

Kotak said the previous result between the two teams will have no bearing on their mindset going into the final.

“That depends how the New Zealand team thinks, but I think we should not think that,” said Kotak. “We should just try and turn up and play a good game of cricket because there is no use thinking about the last match.”

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said they are not too worried about India’s advantage.

“I mean, look, the decision around that’s out of our hands,” said Stead.

“So, it’s not something we worry about too much. India have got to play all their games here in Dubai. But as you said, we have had a game here and we’ll learn very quickly from that experience there as well.”

“And if we’re good enough to beat India on Sunday, then I’m sure we’ll be very, very happy,” he added.

MILAN: Christian Pulisic was the hero for AC Milan on Saturday with his two goals helping the Rossoneri end a three-match losing streak in Serie A.
Pulisic first earned and converted a penalty to level the score at 2-2 after Lecce had been leading 2-0. The United States international — who is nicknamed “Captain America” — then scored the late winner in a 3-2 victory at Lecce.
The result saw Milan inch up to eighth in the Italian league. Lecce remained three points above the relegation zone.
City rival Inter Milan were playing bottom club Monza later Saturday and looking to move four points clear at the top of the table.
Milan were in deep crisis as they had also been knocked out of the Champions League by Feyenoord before their miserable run at home. They thought they had got off to the perfect start at Lecce as Santiago Giménez had the ball in the back of the net after just 47 seconds but it was ruled out for offside.
Instead it was Lecce that took the early lead, within seven minutes, with a stunning Nikola Krstovic curler from 20 yards.
It was Lecce’s first goal in 367 minutes, having failed to find the back of the net in their previous four matches.
Milan had more celebrations cut short in the 15th minute when Matteo Gabbia volleyed home Theo Hernández’s free kick but it was again ruled out for offside.
Both teams also hit the woodwork before Krstovic doubled his and Lecce’s tally in the 59th, sweeping a low cross into the bottom left corner.
However, Milan turned things round in the space of five minutes.
João Félix’s effort was probably going wide but went in off Lecce defender Antonino Gallo for an own-goal and then Pulisic leveled in the 73rd with a powerful spot kick down the middle after being tripped by Federico Baschirotto.
The turn-around was complete nine minutes from time. Rafael Leão floated in a free kick from the left for Pulisic to volley in at the back post.
Fight against relegation
A last-gasp penalty saw Venezia snatch a third successive draw, holding Cesc Fabregas’ Como 1-1.
Venezia remained 19th in the 20-team league, five points from safety.
Parma inched two points above the relegation zone after two Mateo Pellegrino goals saw them twice fight back to draw 2-2 against Torino.