IND vs NZ: Rohit Sharma loses 12th consecutive toss, equals Brian Lara’s unwanted record

IND vs NZ, ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final: Rohit Sharma loses another toss. (ICC Photo)

IND vs NZ: A simple coin flip—just a fleeting moment of chance—can influence the course of a match. But before a final, it becomes more than luck; it holds the power to sway strategy and shift the game’s balance even before the first ball is bowled. At the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (March 9) in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final between India and New Zealand - Rohit Sharma made a record which frankly no captain would wish to claim.

India captain has now 12 toss losses in a row. He is equal to West Indies legend Brian Lara.

Most consecutive tosses lost by a captain in ODIs:

12* – Rohit Sharma (India, November 2023 – March 2025)

12 – Brian Lara (West Indies, October 1998 – May 1999)

11 – Peter Borren (Netherlands, March 2011 – August 2013)

"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, takes the toss away from the game. At the end of the day, what matters is how well you want to play. That's what we've spoken about in the dressing room, not to worry about the toss and to just play well, that's what we've done and we have to do today as well. New Zealand have been a very good team over the past so many years, they tend to play good cricket in ICC tournaments. The challenge for us is to play well against them now. Same team for us," said Rohit Sharma after losing his 12th toss in a row.

New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner won the toss and opted to bat against India in the Champions Trophy final on Sunday. New Zealand made one change, bringing in Nathan Smith for injured Matt Henry, while India named an unchanged playing eleven.

IND vs NZ: ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final playing 11s

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy.

New Zealand: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Kyle Jamieson, Nathan Smith, Will O'Rourke.