India vs New Zealand Toss, Playing 11 Update for Champions Trophy 2025 Final: Rohit Sharma loses toss again, NZ opt to bat first

Add as a preferred source on Google

India vs New Zealand Toss, Playing 11 Update for Champions Trophy 2025 Final: Mitchell Santner-led New Zealand opted to bat first after winning the toss against India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on March 9, 2025 (Sunday).

This is also the record 15th time that Rohit Sharma has lost a toss in an ODI match and importantly this time in a final. Meanwhile after winning the toss, New Zealand skipper Santner said: "We're going to have a bat first. Looks like a pretty good wicket, similar to the one we played India here a week ago.

"Want to get runs on the board and see what happens. Obviously expected a few blue shirts, great atmosphere, great ground. Going to be slightly different from what we got in Pakistan. We saw how India played and what they got out of it. Hope it slows down a bit later. Different guys have stepped up at different times. You want guys firing from the start and we have done that, as have India. Unfortunately Matt Henry has been ruled out, we've got Nathan Smith coming in."

Meanwhile Rohit Sharma said: "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."

India vs New Zealand Playing 11

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

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

India vs New Zealand Pitch Report

New Zealand have gained the advantage by opting to bat first on a used Dubai surface, which was previously played on during the India-Pakistan clash. The dry and slow nature of the pitch is unlikely to have changed much over the past fortnight, making spin a key factor. While India dominated New Zealand in the group stage, the Kiwis must counter India's spin attack effectively to avoid a repeat. Execution will be crucial as they look to overcome the challenge on a surface that favors disciplined bowling.