Rohit Sharma’s uncanny misfortune with the toss persisted as he lost the coin flip for the 12th consecutive time in ODIs, tying an unwanted record set by Brian Lara.
In the Champions Trophy 2025 final, New Zealand opted to bat first against India.
Despite the setback, Rohit Sharma expressed confidence in his team’s ability to chase down any target. “We’ve been here enough, batted first and bowled first, don’t really mind batting second. It hasn’t changed much; we’ve chased and won as well. It does give you a lot of confidence and takes the toss away from the game. At the end of the day, what matters is how well you want to play,” said Rohit.
India remains unchanged in their lineup, while New Zealand made one alteration, with Matt Henry missing out. As the teams gear up for this crucial clash, all eyes are on India’s formidable chasing prowess.
Playing XI:
New Zealand: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Kyle Jamieson, William O’Rourke, Nathan Smith.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy.