Rohit Sharma equals unwanted record at the toss in IND vs NZ 2025 Champions Trophy final

Indian captain Rohit Sharma equaled an unwanted record at the toss ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy final between India and New Zealand. The final is being played on Sunday, March 9, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Rohit Sharma once again lost the toss as New Zealand opted to bat first. He has failed to win a single toss in this Champions Trophy so far. With that, he equaled former West Indies captain and cricketing legend Brian Lara's record for most consecutive tosses lost as a skipper in ODIs.

Lara lost 12 consecutive tosses in ODIs between October 1998 and May 1999. Rohit, with the outcome of the toss ahead of the final, has now lost 12 consecutive tosses in the format (November 2023 to March 2025) as well, thus being on par with Lara for this unwanted record.

Fortunately for the 37-year-old, the result of the toss had not affected the outcome of the matches as India have won all four games played in the ongoing Champions Trophy. This is also the 15th consecutive toss lost by India in ODIs, with Rohit losing 12 of them.

Former Netherlands captain Peter Borren is behind Rohit and Lara on this list having lost 11 consecutive tosses in ODIs between March 2011 and August 2013.

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Can Rohit Sharma deliver a big knock with the bat in the final?

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has also not quite fired with the bat in the Champions Trophy apart from losing consecutive tosses. He has managed to score just 104 runs from four matches at an average of 26.00 and strike-rate of 107.21 with no fifty to his name.

His highest score of 41 came against Bangladesh in India's opening match of the tournament. While he has changed his approach of trying to make the most of the powerplay and provide the team with a solid start, he has often been dismissed early.

The approach is not a wrong one, however, the team will hope for a big knock from their captain in the all-important final. It will be crucial for Rohit Sharma to score big runs and put New Zealand under pressure.