Dubai, Mar 9 (UNI) New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner won the toss and opted to bat first in the ICC Champions Trophy final, extending India's streak of lost tosses to 15 consecutive One Day Internationals (ODIs) here on Sunday.
This marks the 12th straight toss loss for Indian captain Rohit Sharma between November 2023 and March 2025. Lara had suffered the same fate from October 1998 to May 1999, while Peter Borren follows closely with 11 consecutive losses from March 2011 to August 2013.
Despite the unfavourable toss record, Rohit Sharma remained composed, stating that India were prepared for any situation. "We've been here enough, batted first and bowled first, so we don't really mind batting second. It hasn’t changed much; we’ve chased and won as well. At the end of the day, what matters is how well you play," Rohit said.
Santner, who took the decision to bat first, pointed to the dry surface as the main factor. "Looks like a pretty good wicket, similar to the one we played on a week ago. We want to get runs on the board and see what happens," the New Zealand captain explained.
Experts Rameez Raja and Aaron Finch described the pitch as "bone dry" and believed it would become tougher for batting as the match progressed. "You win the toss and bat first on this surface. It will get harder and harder to bat as the game goes on. Pace off will be the way to go for the bowlers," Raja and Finch analysed.
Playing XIs
New Zealand: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, William O’Rourke.
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.
With New Zealand batting first, India will look to overcome their toss misfortune with a disciplined bowling effort in the all-important final.
UNI BDN ARN