Mitchell Santner reveals New Zealand's plan to tackle Varun Chakravarthy ahead of Champions Trophy final, says, 'it is going to be...'

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has expressed his concern over the threat posed by Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy in the upcoming Champions Trophy final. Varun, who had a significant impact on the Kiwi batting lineup during their last group-stage encounter, is likely to feature in the final. 

Santner acknowledged that several New Zealand batsmen have faced Varun in the Indian Premier League. However, he highlighted that they will be studying his bowling videos closely in preparation for the final.  Santner specifically mentioned Varun's 115 km/h slider as a major threat and emphasized the importance of being alert to this delivery during the match.

"A little bit of mystery, but it was the first time some of the guys have been facing him. I think they'll learn from the other day. If the pitch plays a similar way, it's going to be a challenge along with all three of their other spinners. I think the boys will be ready for tomorrow. We'll look at a little bit more footage," Santner said in the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

He further added, "I think we obviously know what his threats are now. That 115 km/h arm bowl, that got me. That was a bit of a threat. But we know he's going to be a challenge."

Virat Kohli, a senior member of the Indian batting lineup, is another player that New Zealand will need to be wary of in the Champions Trophy final. Kohli has been in exceptional form throughout the tournament, delivering two high-quality innings while chasing targets.

During the press conference, Santner briefly touched upon Kohli's recent performances, specifically mentioning his innings against Australia. He highlighted how the Australian team struggled to dismiss Kohli in that particular match.

"I think Australia were probably on track to score a few more runs. But they kept trying to take wickets through the middle. And then India were able to squeeze them back to that kind of 260. And then I guess the master of a chase, Kohli, kind of helped that out. So, I think whatever you end up doing, it's trying to do it well for, obviously, a long period of time. And yeah, hopefully, if we win the toss, we'll see what happens. But yeah, I think we've kind of got to be ready for it to be either very similar to our game or a little bit different. And that's finding out what works with both bat and ball for a long time," Santner said.

The Champions Trophy final will mark only the second time New Zealand and India have met in the tournament's final. In 2000, New Zealand emerged victorious against Sourav Ganguly's India to claim the title.