Rohit Sharma loses crucial toss as New Zealand bat first in CT2025 final; Matt Henry misses out

Champions Trophy 2025 is set to witness its final game of the campaign as Rohit Sharma and Mitchell Santner lead their respective sides. The Indian skipper continued his bad luck with the toss as he lost his 12th consecutive call of the coin. Mitchell Santner had no hesitation in batting first in what was a key game for both sides. 

Team India went in with the same side that played the previous two encounters. Rohit and his side are set to field four spinners for a third successive match. New Zealand, on the other hand, has made one change, with pacer Matt Henry being excluded. The 32-year-old was injured in the previous game against South Africa. 

Nathan Smith who is a dependable lower-order batter and seam bowler, has been drafted into the playing XI. Matt Henry had picked 5 for 42 in the last league match of the tournament against India in the same venue last Sunday. The right-arm seamer (Henry) from New Zealand is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 10 wickets from four matches. 

IND vs NZ: Massive battle in Dubai 

Former Pakistan skipper Rameez Raja was with Aaron Finch to inspect the pitch ahead of the game. Interestingly, this is the same surface that was used for the India versus Pakistan match. Team India won the game by six wickets, with Virat Kohli scoring an unbeaten ton. Both experts felt that the Team that bats first will have a slight advantage as batting will become difficult in the second half since there is no dew expected. The playing surface will also get slower and lower, making it difficult for run scoring. 

Speaking at the toss, Mitchell 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. 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”

Indian skipper 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.