Indian captain Rohit Sharma completed his fifty in the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in Dubai. Playing his 11th ICC final across formats, Rohit’s previous best was 47 against Australia in the CWC 2023 final; he surpassed it and hit his first ICC final fifty. The right-handed opener took the Kiwi bowlers to the cleaners at the start, smashing them for fours and sixes for fun.

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Chasing 252 on a dicey Dubai pitch, Rohit began the innings with a six on the second ball, pulling one to deep square leg off lanky seamer Kyle Jamieson. He continued the onslaught against William O’Rourke, hitting him for fours across both sides. As Rohit began getting into his groove, captain Mitchell Santner introduced Nathan Smith to the attack, only for him to suffer the wrath of Rohit’s clean hitting.

The Indian captain smashed six fours and three sixes inside the Powerplay before completing his maiden ICC final fifty. Alongside his fellow opener Shubman Gill, who found his touch after the end of ten overs, Rohit stitched a 100-plus stand for the first wicket (in 17 overs) for the first time in this competition.

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Rohit’s infamous toss record and NZ innings

Rohit Sharma lost the toss in the final, his 12th consecutive in international cricket, equalling Brian Lara’s record, with India losing its 15th straight coin toss across all competitions. 

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Meanwhile, for the nth time in this edition, this wasn’t a bad toss to lose for Rohit, who led his bowlers to restrict the Kiwis under par-total in the crunch game. 

New Zealand began brilliantly, with both openers (Will Young and Rachin Ravindra) adding 57 for the first wicket. Varun Chakaravarthy broke the stand before Kuldeep Yadav picked two quick wickets to put brakes on the Kiwis’ rising scoring rate. Ravindra Jadeja joined the party later by dismissing Tom Latham before Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips steadied the sinking ship.

Though they tried doing it for most of their innings, both departed soon after. Mitchell and Michael Bracewell completed respective fifties as New Zealand posted a fighting 251 for seven in 50 overs.

Also read | IND vs NZ Champions Trophy Final: Watch all New Zealand wickets

(With inputs from innings)