New Zealand opener Rachin Ravindra has garnered a lot of attention in his maiden Champions Trophy campaign as he did during his first ODI World Cup two years ago. The left-handed batter has smashed five ODI centuries to date - all coming in these two tournaments (three in the WC and two thus far in this competition).

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Former England captain Michael Atherton showered praise on the youngster, calling him among the next generation’s batting greats.

Against South Africa in a crucial semis clash in Lahore, Rachin scored a brilliant hundred batting first, scoring 108 with veteran Kane Williamson – long hailed as ‘The Fab Four’ member, completing his 15th as New Zealand amassed 362/6 – the highest team total in the tournament history. The Kiwis beat the Proteas by 50 runs to cruise into the Champions Trophy final, scheduled this Sunday in Dubai against India.

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Putting him at par with England’s Harry Brook and Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal as future players, Atherton said, "Rachin Ravindra is one of the brightest young talents in the game. 

"We say similar about Harry Brook, and there's Yashasvi Jaiswal too with India; these are the guys who are going to be among the handful of the next generation of greats.

"Kane Williamson has obviously been part of what we call 'The Fab Four', along with [Joe] Root, [Steve] Smith and [Virat] Kohli, and I think Ravindra is among the next group of players to take that on. He's a fantastic player; some of the shots he played in the semi-final were so stylish,” the former cricketer-turned-broadcaster said while chatting on Sky Sports.

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Hussain backs Black Caps in Final

After Proteas batter David Miller openly said he’d be supporting New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final against India, former England captain Nasser Hussain also threw his weight behind the Kiwis, saying they are unlikely to bottle in the summit clash against an unbeaten Indian team.

"They will not bottle it, they won't choke,” Hussain asserted while talking to Sky Sports.

"We were having dinner with [former Australia batter] Aaron Finch, and he summed it up pretty well in saying New Zealand are never a side that beat themselves. And, by that, he means that they will rock up and they will put in a performance.

"All the way through the New Zealand lineup, they have some very, very tough cricketers who turn up to every single game and give it their absolute best - that's why they will always be there around semi-finals and finals,” Hussain noted.

He added that the Kiwi team has the right blend of experienced and young cricketers, and even with all the resources, should they lose, it’s because India would be a better team on the day.

"They also have that great mixture between senior pros that have been there year in, year out - like Kane Williamson, one of the all-time greats - and youth in the likes of Rachin Ravindra.

"They may well lose [New Zealand], but if they do, it will be because India beat them,” he added.

(With inputs from agencies)