New Delhi: India captain Rohit Sharma earned an unenviable distinction Sunday as he lost the toss to Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan in their high-stakes Champions Trophy game, setting the world record for the most consecutive losses.
India have lost 12 straight tosses in ODIs since they played Australia in the 2023 ICC World Cup final. The previous record was held by Netherlands, with 11 consecutive wrong calls in coin toss between March 2011 and August 2013.
India’s stand-in skipper KL Rahul lost all three tosses in India’s 2023 tour of South Africa, an ODI series India went on to win 2-1.
In Sunday’s Champions Trophy game, Pakistan captain Rizwan won the toss and elected to bowl, as a packed stadium watched on in Dubai. The two teams are playing at the neutral venue after India refused to travel to Pakistan for the tournament, citing security concerns.
“We’ll bat first, it looks like a good surface. Want to put up a good target. Every match is important in ICC events, we will keep things normal. The boys are familiar with these conditions, we have done well here and we want to do our best today,” Rizwan said.
After losing its tournament opener against New Zealand by 60 runs, the Pakistan team management made one change in the playing XI. Fakhar Zaman was replaced by Imam-ul-Haq.
Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, appeared unfazed after losing the toss. “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,” the Indian captain said.
“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.”
After the first 10 overs, Pakistan’s score was 52/2, with both openers back in the pavilion.
Hardik Pandya claimed the wicket of Babar Azam, while Axar Patel dismissed Imam-ul-Haq with a good throw at the stumps on the non-striker end.
(Edited by Nisheeth Upadhyay)
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