Rohit Sharma Humiliated In Champions Trophy 2025 Final; Equals Brain Lara

India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, looked clueless at the start of the Champions Trophy 2025 final against New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS). He lost the 12th consecutive time in the toss in the ODIs as the crowd and his teammates reacted.

Mitchell Santner, New Zealand’s captain, opted to bat first on a surface that he expected to get slow in the second innings. Given the outcome in Rohit Sharma's previous 11 appearances as a captain in the 50-over format, the opener seemed to have given up on winning the toss as he gestured towards the team.

New Zealand opts to bat first in the Champions Trophy 2025 final

The reaction from Rohit grabbed the eyes of the former left-handed Indian opening batter, Abhinav Mukund, presenter on Star Sports, who was in splits.

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“Rohit Sharma is like, why go for a toss? This is the 12 consecutive time he has lost the toss. I wonder if there is a probability for this.” He reckoned on the live show as both Ambati Rayudu and Mike Hesson, who were part of the panel, could not stop laughing.

India decided to retain the same playing eleven for the final as they would go with four spinners in the side. Unfortunately, Matt Henry, who injured his shoulder in the last game during the semifinal against South Africa in Lahore, has been ruled out of the tournament.

Nathan Smith replaces him in the side and may hope to use the cutters on the slow and low Dubai surface. Under the lights, the ball could swing a bit, but the dew might be a huge factor on this surface.

The outcome saw Rohit Sharma equal West Indies legend Brian Laras’s record of 12 straight losses in the toss between 1998 and 1999. Overall, it was the 15th consecutive time that the Blue Brigade had lost the toss. On three other occasions, KL Rahul led the side in South Africa during the ODI series.

New Zealand puts early pressure on Rohit Sharma's army

The opening stand of the Blackcaps between Rachin Ravindra and Will Young put early pressure on the Indian side. Ravindra especially went after Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami early with the big shots, as he clubbed 37 runs in 29 deliveries. But Rohit Sharma installed Varun Chakravarthy, who drew the first blood, sending Young back to the pavilion.

Ravindra failed to read Kuldeep Yadav from the hand and ended up getting bowled. Kane Williamson tapped the ball back to the left-arm wrist spinner before Tom Latham and Daryl Mitchell put up a slight stand between them. For a long time, the Kiwis didn’t smash a boundary before Glenn Phillips damaged the opponents with two fours and one six.

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But Ravindra Jadeja trapped Latham before the wickets on 14 runs in 30 balls. Axar Patel kept the tight line and length while the other spinners kept on increasing the pressure on the opponent's side.

India seeks unbeaten run to win Champions Trophy 2025

Shubman Gill’s unbeaten century against Bangladesh in Dubai helped the Indian side to win the opening game of the contest. Rohit Sharma also smashed a fine and aggressive 40-run knock in the encounter. Virat celebrated another undefeated century against Pakistan to carry them over the line.

After their victory over the Kiwis in the group stage, they faced Australia in the first semifinal. Kohli cracked 84 runs, while Shreyas Iyer also clubbed a cracking half-century in the fixture.