New Zealand have also already qualified for the semi-finals and Sunday’s match will decide the Group A topper.

“We’ve had two pretty tough training sessions, so that’s been the preparation,” ten Doeschate said. “In terms of the bench strength, I think the priority is making sure that we have our best guys available and fully fit for the second game [the semi-final on March 4].

“But we also don’t want to rest them for another two days [India have had a week off]. So to get that balance right, we might just try to share the bowling out a little bit. But we obviously want to win against New Zealand as well. It’s important that we keep that momentum going and obviously to top the group as well. So the balance of those two things I just mentioned [is] to be thought about.”

Ten Doeschate also said he was happy with the rest his players have had since their last game against Pakistan on February 23.

“They’ve had a lot of rest now. But it’s how you back the two games up. So if all the seamers are going to bowl 10 overs, and then say we bowl second in the first game, we’re bowling 36 hours later, we’re bowling first, that’s quite a workload.

“So that’s what I was alluding to. One of the options is to make sure the guys don’t bowl their full quota of overs, if that opportunity allows itself. But we’re ready to manage that in the field and try and keep the guys as fresh as possible for the first and the final.”

Doeschate admitted that Sunday’s match could be a contest of spin. “They [New Zealand] have [many] spinners as well, so it could be a contest of spin,” he said.

“Coming into the competition, we weren’t expecting such an over-reliance on spin. But the guys have bowled nicely and the pitch has helped a little bit, so I’m sure it’s going to be the same for the next game here.”

“KL has been good. He didn’t get many chances… [But] we’ve got to keep Rishabh up and running. We never know when we’re going to need him. But certainly to have two wicketkeepers of that calibre is a nice thing to have.”

On whether scoring has been difficult on the Dubai pitch, he said, “I won’t say difficult. I think we’ve become used to a standard where you score 320 without thinking too much about it. [Here] getting to 320 has been difficult.

“The pitch has played slightly differently, in my opinion, in those two games [against Bangladesh and Pakistan]. But they are probably like 280-290 pitches if you bat really well. So in the bigger picture, yeah, it’s not like playing in Pakistan, where you expect to get 320-330. But you’ve got to adapt yourself and get a score that’s good on these wickets. And we think it’s right about 280-290, judging from the first two pitches.”

Pietersen also captained England across 15 internationals, including a two-match Test series in India in 2008.

“I’ve got incredible memories of representing the Delhi franchise in the IPL, and I’ve been able to maintain that passion for the team even as a broadcaster over the years. I shared the field with Venu (Venugopal Rao) during the 2012 season, and it’s great to be reconnecting with him as we begin a new chapter at this amazing franchise.”

Outside of the IPL, Pietersen has featured in the Big Bash League (BBL), Pakistan Super League (PSL) and Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Overall, he played 200 T20s, scoring 5695 runs at an average of 33.89 and strike rate of just under 137.

“With someone like Virat, you never write him off, because I’m sure he’d be motivated by that [achieving the record], I think,” Ponting said on the ICC Review Podcast. “Now that he’s gone past me and only two ahead of him, I’m sure he wants to give himself the best chance to be remembered as the all-time leading run scorer in the game.

“So, as long as the hunger’s there, obviously, physically wise, he’s probably as fit as he’s ever been and works exceptionally hard on that side of his game. So, if the hunger’s still there, then I’m never going to write him off.

“I know he’s nice and close to Sangakkara now. I don’t think it’s going to be long, maybe the next game before he goes past Sangakkara. But still, a little way to go to catch Sachin.”

Calling Kohli the best 50-over player he has ever seen, Ponting was also amazed by the fact that Kohli is still more than 4000 runs adrift of Tendulkar’s record despite being at the top of his ODI game for so long.

“Congratulations to him [Kohli]. He’s obviously been a champion player for a long, long time. And particularly, probably in the white-ball formats where he’s been an unbelievably good 50-over player,” Ponting said. “In fact, I think I’m on record before saying I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better 50-over player than Virat Kohli.

“It’s crazy when you think about it, isn’t it? Just how good Virat’s been over such a long period of time, yet he’s still 4,000 runs behind Sachin. I mean, it just goes to show how good Sachin was, but also his longevity in the game. How long Sachin played for and how long you’re able to maintain such high levels for as an individual player? And that’s the one thing I’ve always judged excellence on, is how long you can maintain it for.”

“Look, I’ve always said big games equal big names. You need your big names to stand up in those big moments. And no bigger game for India than a game against Pakistan. So, it’s no surprise to me that that has happened,” he said. “I think it’s very much the same as what we would say whenever we play England. Your reputation is forged in what you do in the biggest contests on the international stage.

“And no bigger moment than Sunday night when Pakistan had batted first on a tricky wicket. It needed someone at the top of the order to play a match-winning innings like that. And once again, it was Kohli to get the job done.”

KKR have not yet made public who their new captain will be, but Iyer, who was bought back for a record sum of INR 23.75 crore (US$ 2.83 million approx.), is learned to be among the top contenders along with former India captain Ajinkya Rahane.

Although Iyer, who is 30, has never led in competitive cricket, he is eager for the experience. “Definitely. Definitely, I’m ready,” he said in a chat with ESPNcricinfo recently. “Again, I’ve always said this: captaincy is just a tag. I believe in leadership. That is a bigger role to play, being a leader.

“You don’t necessarily need the tag of a captain to be a leader in your dressing room. You need to set examples. You need to be a good role model, both on and off the field, which I am doing right now in MP. I’m not the captain of the MP team, but my opinions are respected and I really love to be in an atmosphere where every individual – again, new or experienced, 20 lakhs, 20 crore, whatever – you just need to have the freedom to voice your opinion. Or you just need to have the freedom to give opinions and give suggestions and them to be taken in the right spirit.

“I’ve always wanted to be that person. And if captaincy comes my way, I would definitely want to do it. There’s no ambiguity surrounded to this. I’ll definitely do it, if it comes my way. There is no reason not to do it.”

Iyer made his IPL debut in 2021 and was instrumental in turning around KKR’s fortunes that season. They began with four losses in six games, but recovered in dramatic fashion, putting up seven wins in nine games to make the final. Iyer’s installation at the top of the order played a part in the upswing but his role has since diversified. He shifted to No. 3 (and lower) last year and has also chipped in with the ball when needed. In total, Iyer has contributed 1326 runs in 51 matches for KKR with a strike rate of 137. It is the only franchise he has ever played for.

One potential reason KKR haven’t announced the captain for IPL 2025 could be the busy Indian domestic schedule. At the time of the mega auction, which was held late November, Iyer was among several KKR players featuring in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where Madhya Pradesh lost in the final to Mumbai. The second leg of the Ranji Trophy followed, with the final on February 26.

Iyer said he was happy KKR did not want to bother the players while the domestic season was on. “It’s good that they’re giving players their space and letting them focus on domestic cricket. Whenever it comes, we’ll see about it.”

The full Venkatesh Iyer interview will be published in the lead-up to IPL 2025.

Kohli began the game against Pakistan 15 runs short of 14,000, and passed the milestone during India’s successful chase of 242, leading his team to victory with an unbeaten hundred, his 51st in the format. He reached his century by hitting the winning runs, a cover-driven boundary off part-time spinner Khushdil Shah.

“The difference that I saw, at least from his innings against Bangladesh to this… of course, the pitch was slightly better, but even when he sort of blocked against Bangladesh a couple of dot balls, he was sort of shadowing that again after that, but today we didn’t see any of that,” Anil Kumble said on ESPNcricinfo MatchDay. “He was just back to the way he bats and that says that the mind space was at ease and, of course, the challenge of playing Pakistan and the crowd, I’m sure sort of helps him lift his game and today we saw him in sublime form.”

He is currently averaging over 57 in the format, while Tendulkar (44.19) and Sangakkara (41.73) were averaging in the early 40s when they got to 14,000 runs. He is also the fastest to 14,000 runs in terms of balls faced, needing 14,984, much quicker than both Tendulkar and Sangakkara, who needed 16,292 and 17,789, respectively. Tendulkar and Sangakkara also marked their milestones with hundreds, although both came in defeats unlike with Kohli.

“Every time Virat goes there, the expectations are really high, not just for himself, but from the team’s perspective as well, that he’s going to get those runs for India, whether India bats first or chases down a target. And the fans’ expectations, you know, it’s massive,” Kumble said. “He’s a massive player, so obviously everything is sort of focused around Virat.

“When that happens consistently, it starts to get to you and then you’re trying too hard to get out of that and try to be your normal batting self, and today I thought we saw that in Virat. The way he constructed that hundred was… we’ve seen that many, many times in his 51 hundreds in ODI cricket.”

“I think we could have won a bit earlier. It would have been a convincing win.”

There was almost no stage in their chase of 242 in which India appeared troubled, and almost no stage in the first innings in which Pakistan appeared capable of getting to a score that would test India.

“But if we could have played more aggressively, we could have won a bit earlier,” said Iyer. He’d hit 56 off 67 balls.

Iyer had some good things to say.

“I think Abrar bowled brilliantly. It was important and crucial for me to play out that spell and rotate the strike at the same time. it took some time and then once my eyes were set, I thought that sweep and reverse sweep would have been a great option to put them on the back foot. And I think that worked pretty well for me.

“It wasn’t easy to take charge against Abrar. In that particular phase, it was important to take singles as much as possible, and take the team till the end. Once we reach 30 or 40 runs, it is easy to charge on from there.”

This is the second match India have played at this venue in this Champions Trophy, though this was a different strip from the one they had faced Bangladesh on. And the bowlers who took pace off the ball complicated his progress.

“It’s important to attack, but it’s not easy to go in and straightaway start smashing the ball. You need to see the pace of the wicket, and how it’s coming on to the bat. If you show that intent every ball, it’s difficult for a batsman, to be honest”

Shreyas Iyer

“As we know, even in the previous game we played over here, the wicket is a bit slow,” he said. “It’s spinner-friendly, of course. The amalgamation of all their bowlers and the experience they possess brings a lot of clarity to their bowling.”

India were chasing a modest target, but still, Iyer’s start had been somewhat slow – he made 12 off the first 28 balls he faced.

“It’s important to attack, but it’s not easy to go in and straightaway start smashing the ball,” he said. “You need to see the pace of the wicket, and how it’s coming on to the bat. If you show that intent every ball, it’s difficult for a batsman, to be honest.

“It’s better to take some time, see how it’s coming to you, and let the ball do the talking”