 "India captain Rohit Sharma shakes his Pakistani counterpart Mohammad Rizwan's hand during the toss in the ICC Champions Trophy Group A match between the two arch-rivals in Dubai. AP")
India set a record before a ball was even bowled in their blockbuster ICC Champions Trophy match against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday. Pakistan won the toss and skipper Mohammad Rizwan opted to bat, resulting in India bowling first for the second consecutive match in the ongoing tournament.
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In the process, Team India set a new record for the most consecutive tosses lost in the One-Day International format. Sunday’s highly-anticipated showdown against Pakistan was the 12th consecutive game in which India lost the toss, breaking the previous world record set by Netherlands – who had lost 11 consecutive tosses between March 2011 and August 2013.
India’s unwanted streak goes on
India’s streak of 12 consecutive lost tosses began with the ICC World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad, which the Pat Cummins-led Aussies ended up winning by six wickets. That was followed by the three ODIs in South Africa, in which KL Rahul had filled in as captain for Rohit Sharma, and as many matches in Sri Lanka in August – the only one-dayers India had played in 2024.
Rohit did not get to make a decision during toss in the recently-concluded three-match series against England either. That, however, did not prevent the Men in Blue from steamrolling Jos Buttler’s Englishmen 3-0 .
Pakistan were off to a positive start after opting to bat against India. Facing a must-win situation after their 60-run loss against New Zealand in the tournament opener, the hosts and defending champions reached 142/2 after 32 overs.
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Middle-order batter Saud Shakeel had brought up his fourth ODI half-century and forged a solid third-wicket stand with skipper Rizwan (42 not out) that was worth nearly a century.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAll-rounder Hardik Pandya had broken the opening partnership by getting star batter Babar Azam caught-behind on 23 while Imam-ul-Haq, filling in as opener for the injured Fakhar Zaman, was run-out for 10 thanks to a direct hit by Axar Patel.