Former Australian cricket team batsman and captain Ricky Ponting believes that the New Zealand team shows a great game in ICC competitions and the way he has played in the tournament, he should be proud of him. The New Zealand team was a runner-up in the recently concluded Champions Trophy, where the Indian cricket team raised the trophy by defeating them by 4 wickets in the final match in Dubai. Ponting believes that it is only a matter of time when the New Zealand team can also win the ICC title. This was New Zealand’s 7th ICC final. This team also suffered a defeat in the final in Dubai in the 2021 T20 World Cup. The truth is that the Kiwi team has been able to win only twice in 7 finals. Once he won in 2000 in the ICC knockout and the second win was defeated by the Indian team in the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship in 2021.
Talking in the latest Edition of ICC Review, Ponting said, ‘I don’t think the campaign of New Zealand was bad. He played a great tournament. He was tremendous from the beginning to the end. At the beginning of the tournament, I was asked to name four semi -finalists, then New Zealand’s name was in my mind because they always do it.
Ponting, referring to New Zealand’s 50 -run win over South Africa in the Champions Trophy 2025 semi -finals, said, “It was New Zealand’s tremendous win over South Africa.” He maintained suzerainty throughout the match. Batting first, he scored a score of 362 runs, which is the biggest score in the Champions Trophy.
New Zealand made this score at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Ponting praised Matt Henry’s performance in the match, who missed the final match due to injury. Henry was the highest wicket -taker of the competition.
Talking about the final, Ponting said, ‘New Zealand had to play against a very good team in the final. He did not allow this match to be unilateral. India won the 49 or 50th over. New Zealand did not show a bad game in the final. Some of his main players were out in that match because Matt Henry was not there. In such a situation, New Zealand’s campaign was excellent and it will soon win the ICC competition.