'We have a no-excuse mindset' - Glenn Phillips on New Zealand versus India game in Dubai

India will be up against New Zealand in the final Group A clash of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Match 12 on Sunday, March 02. The game holds crucial importance for both the teams, as a win would ensure their place in the points table, with the winner gaining the top position. Currently, New Zealand sit atop with four points, whereas, the Men in Blue also have four points but with a lower net run-rate (NRR) of 0.647 against BlackCaps' 0.863.

However, a practical advantage that India hold over the Kiwis in the upcoming clash is being accustomed to the conditions over the last three weeks that they have spent in Dubai, the host for all of their matches in the eight-team tournament. NZ all-rounder Glenn Phillips shared his opinion that the format of the tournament is such that India are to play all of their games in Dubai, but they are not going to have any sorts of excuses about that.

On being asked about the advantage India hold for the upcoming match against favourites India, Phillips said that New Zealand aren't a team that will have excuses ready as a cover for poor performances. The cricketer further said that their game plans against the Men in Blue are well in place, and we'll be utilized on the match day in Dubai.

"For us there's no focus on anything like that. Obviously, the tournament draw is what it is. We have a no-excuse mindset to be able to come out to a tournament," Phillips said during the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

"You’ve dealt the hand that you've dealt, and India has been dealt a hand. We’re never going to complain about what we get and we'll just do the best of what we've got," he added.

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Dubai pitch is playing slow, India have three quality spinners: Phillips

Wary of the conditions at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the venue for the upcoming clash, Phillips said that India have quality spinners in the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja, following it up with the quality all-rounders New Zealand themselves have in Mitchell Santner, himself, and Rachin Ravindra. He feels that both sides have most of their bases covered, making it an even contest to look forward to.

"We have our game plans against India. They're an incredibly strong side, and they pretty much have all their bases covered. So, for us, it's about looking at the pitches and the results that have just gone by recently. The pitch in Dubai is playing a little bit slow and there's obviously a good deal of turn. So, I think it's going to be an interesting match-up. They've got three quality spinners, and we have a lot of all-rounders as well. So, we do have a lot of bases covered regardless of the situation that we're going to be facing against,” he added further.

Lot less players than India to choose from

The dynamic all-rounder further added the advantage they boast over India while entering into the upcoming mouth-watering contest. The South Africa-born feels that they have the luxury of trying and experimenting with their players for a relative longer period of time before exploring other options.

"We are fortunate in New Zealand where we do have a lot less players than India has to choose from, which means we can afford to give guys slightly longer runs before moving to potentially the next crop of players coming through. And that does obviously give a lot of confidence."