IND vs NZ Final, Champions Trophy 2025: ₹5,000 crore bets, Dawood’s gang involved; nail-biter predicted in Dubai

India will play New Zealand in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy on March 9 at the Dubai International Stadium. According to a report in NDTV, bets totalling up to ₹5,000 crore have been placed on the final match.

Sources monitoring the betting networks indicate that India is the favoured team among international bookies. Additionally, these sources have revealed that many bookies are connected to the underworld, with major bookmakers from around the world gathering in Dubai during every significant match.

IND vs NZ LIVE SCORE, Champions Trophy 2025 Final

According to an NDTV report, sources have revealed that Dawood Ibrahim's gang, known as 'D Company,' is involved in betting on major cricket matches in Dubai.

The Delhi Police's Crime Branch arrested at least five major bookies during the Champions Trophy for placing bets on the semi-finals. The report added that their interrogation has led to an investigation that has now reached Dubai.

Champions Trophy 2025: Tickets for final between India, New Zealand at Dubai sold out

All 25,000 tickets for the last match of the ongoing marquee event have been sold out. Ticket prices ranged from AED 250 for general admission to AED 12,000 for the exclusive Sky Box hospitality, and generated an estimated total of AED 9 million from ticket sales.

‘Final match will be nail-biting’: Laxmi Ratan Shukla ahead of Champions Trophy 2025 final India, New Zealand

Before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final between India and New Zealand in Dubai, former cricketer Laxmi Ratan Shukla shared his views on all-important classes, saying that this fixture would be a "nail-bitter."

"India is performing very well under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. The balance of our team is very good... We cannot take New Zealand lightly because their performance is also outstanding. The final match will be nail-biting..." Laxmi Ratan Shukla said while speaking to ANI.

India's Dubai venue criticised amid Champions Trophy, Gambhir defends selection strategy

India did not travel to Pakistan due to security reasons. It played all its matches in Dubai, unlike other teams that had to travel from Pakistan to Dubai and vice versa during the league stage and semifinals for their matches.

Several experts have criticised the ICC for favouring India by assigning them only one venue, while other teams must travel extensively throughout the tournament to play at different locations. Notably, after India marched to the final with a four-wicket win over Australia, head coach Gautam Gambhir quickly dismissed the idea that his side had received such an advantage. He stated in a hypothetical scenario that if India travelled to Pakistan, they would have still gone for two front-line spinners, considering the subcontinental conditions.

"First of all, this is as neutral a venue for us as it is for any other team. We have not played here. I don't remember which tournament we played in this stadium last. And in fact, we didn't plan anything like that. The plan was that if you picked two front-line spinners in the 15-man squad, then even if we played in Pakistan or anywhere, we would have picked two front-line spinners because it was a competition on the subcontinent. So, it was nothing like we wanted to set up a spinners' trap. If you look at it, we only played one front-line spinner in the first three matches," Gambhir said during the post-match press conference.

India claimed last week's contest against the Kiwis by 44 runs, after posting 249 runs from their 50 overs and restricting New Zealand to 205 runs all out in the 46th over.

-With agency inputs