In the Champions Trophy 2025 final in Dubai, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and chose to bat against India. Due to a shoulder injury, star bowler Matt Henry was replaced by Nathan Smith. India continued with an unchanged lineup, marking their 15th consecutive toss loss in ODIs, including 12 under captain Rohit Sharma, who tied Brian Lara’s record for the most consecutive toss losses. Despite this, Rohit expressed confidence in batting second, emphasizing the importance of performance over toss outcomes. Both teams aim to compete strongly, with India focusing on their winning strategy against a formidable New Zealand side.
Mitchell Santner, the captain of New Zealand, won the toss and decided to bat first against India in the Champions Trophy 2025 final held in Dubai on Sunday. The Kiwis had to make a necessary change, as their key fast bowler Matt Henry was sidelined due to a shoulder injury, with Nathan Smith stepping in as his replacement. Conversely, India named an unchanged XI for the important match. Remarkably, India has now lost 15 consecutive tosses in ODIs and 12 in a row under Rohit’s captaincy (Probability of 0.000031 or 0.0031%). (IND vs NZ Final LIVE Updates)
As a result, Rohit has matched the record for the most consecutive tosses lost by a captain in ODIs, tying with West Indies legend Brian Lara.
“We’re going to bat first. It looks like a pretty good wicket, similar to the one we played India on here a week ago. We want to put runs on the board and see what unfolds. We obviously expect a few blue shirts, and it’s a great atmosphere in a fantastic ground. It will be slightly different from what we experienced in Pakistan. We observed how India performed, and we hope it slows down a bit as the game progresses. Different players have stepped up at various times. We need everyone firing from the start, which we have done, as has India. Unfortunately, Matt Henry is out, so Nathan Smith will be coming in,” Santner declared during the toss.
Despite the toss loss, India’s captain Rohit expressed that he isn’t concerned about batting first.
“We have enough experience in this situation, having batted first and chased effectively, so batting second isn’t a problem for us. It hasn’t made much of a difference; we have chased well and succeeded too. It builds a lot of confidence as it removes the toss from the equation. Ultimately, what matters is our performance. That’s the focus we’ve discussed in the dressing room: not to worry about the toss and just play our game well today as we have done before. New Zealand has been an excellent team over the years, demonstrating strong performances in ICC tournaments. The challenge now is to perform well against them. We are fielding the same team,” Rohit explained.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
New Zealand (Playing XI): 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
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