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As Rohit Sharma lost the toss for the clash against Pakistan in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025, India created an all-time ODI record. India have lost 12 consecutive tosses in the ODI format, the most by any team in the format's history. The previous record belonged to Netherlands who 11 tosses in a row from March 2011 to August 2013.
India's record-breaking streak started in World Cup 2023 finals and has continued so far. KL Rahul was captain of India's ODI side on South Africa soil. The rest of the nine matches, Rohit Sharma has captained the Indian side including the bilateral series against Sri Lanka and England.
Rizwan won the toss and opted to bat first at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. He made one forced change to the side replacing Imam-ul-Haq by Fakhar Zaman.
Rohit was asked by presenter and former India head coach Ravi Shastri what he would've done to which the 37-year-old replied, "It doesn't really matter."
"They won the toss so we'll bowl first. Looks similar to the last game, the surface is on the slower side. We have an experienced unit in batting so we know what we need to do if the pitches get slower. Need an overall performance from the team - with bat and ball. The last game wasn't an easy one for us, which is always nice. You want to be under pressure and test yourself. We are playing the same team," Rohit said as he fielded an unchanged side.
Fakhar's replacement fails
Zaman's replacement, Imam departed after scoring 10 runs from 26. He was caught short of the crease by Axar Patel's direct hit from mid-on despite a full-length dive. So far, he has scored just 72 runs from just six innings against India in ODIs.
Babar's drives turn fatal
On the other end, Babar Azam failed to capitalise on a good start. Babar hit a few beautiful cover drives to enthrall the crowd but was lured into a shot away from the body by Hardik Pandya in the 10th over of the innings. He scored 23 runs from 26 deliveries including five boundaries.
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