IND vs NZ Final: Rohit Sharma loses 12th consecutive loss, matches Brian Lara’s unwanted record

Rohit Sharma continued his trend of losing the toss, the 12th consecutive time the Indian captain has failed to win the coin flip. After winning the toss, New Zealand elected to bat first, setting India up for a chase at the Dubai International Stadium during the Champions Trophy final.

By losing the toss for the 12th consecutive time, Rohit Sharma equalled the unwanted record of West Indies legend Brian Lara. The left-hander had lost 12 consecutive tosses between October 1998 and May 1999. Meanwhile, India have lost their 15th consecutive toss in ODI cricket.

India and New Zealand playing XI:

India have stuck with the same XI as last time out, with a mix of four spinners and two pacers in Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya.

Meanwhile, New Zealand have been forced to make a change after their leading wicket-taker Matt Henry was ruled out through injury. Right-arm pacer Nathan Smith replaces Henry in the playing XI.

INDIA: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (w/k), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

NEW ZEALAND: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w/k), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Kyle Jamieson, William ORourke, Nathan Smith

India vs New Zealand record in ICC knockout matches:

India and New Zealand have played four ICC knock-out matches so far, and New Zealand have won three of them. New Zealand won the Champions Trophy 2000 Final, the World Cup 2019 Semifinal and the World Test Championship 2021 Final. On the other hand, India won the World Cup 2023 Semifinal.

In all ICC tournaments, India and New Zealand have played 12 matches. Both teams have won 6 games each. Meanwhile, the Men in Blue have a 90% winning record at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India have played 10 ODI matches at the venue and won 9. The only match it did not win ended in a tie (with Afghanistan).