In a thrilling culmination of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bat first against Rohit Sharma’s India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Opting for a proactive approach, Santner highlighted the good condition of the pitch and expressed the Kiwis’ intention to put runs on the board early. The New Zealand side made one change to their lineup, with Nathan Smith replacing the injured Matt Henry.
“We’re going to have a bat first. The wicket looks similar to the one we played India on a week ago. We want to get runs on the board and see what happens,” Santner stated.
In contrast, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma remained unfazed by the toss result, emphasizing that India’s focus would be on executing their game plan regardless of the outcome. “We don’t really mind batting second. It hasn’t changed much; we’ve chased and won here as well. The key is how well you play, not the toss,” Rohit remarked.
Both teams are fielding strong line-ups in what promises to be a closely contested final.
Playing XI: New Zealand: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (WK), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (C), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Will O’Rourke.
India: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy.
