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Even before a ball was bowled in the clash between Indian and Australia, Indian skipper Sharma entered a list of infamy as he lost the coin toss for the eleventh consecutive time in the 50-over format.
India’s captain Rohit Sharma, left, speaks to Australia’s captain Steve Smith at the toss ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal cricket match between India and Australia at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Team India take on Australia in the semifinal of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday in an enticing contest between two of the game’s heavyweights.
And even before a ball was bowled, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma entered a list of infamy as he had lost the coin toss for the eleventh consecutive time as Australia opted to have a bat first after the toss swung their way. Rohit’s misfortune with the toss dates back to November 2023.
Rohit went on par with Dutch skipper Peter Borren, who had also lost the coin toss eleven times on the bounce in ODI fixtures between March 2011 to August 2013.
West Indies legend Brian Lara is the only player who stands ahead of Rohit and Dutchman Borren as the iconic southpaw ended up being unlucky a dozen times on the trot as the kipper of the side from the Caribbean between October 1998 to May 1999.
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Despite the coin favouring the Aussies, the men in blue started the high-profile fixture off on a positive notion as Indian speedster Mohammad Shami removed Australian opener Cooper Connoly for a duck after he had faced nine deliveries as he was caught behind by KL Rahul in the third over of the day.
Travis Head, who vexed Indian hearts a couple of years ago with his performance in the ICC ODI World Cup Final in 2023 on subcontinental soil, was handed a lifeline as he was dropped by Shami, but the southpaw wasn’t allowed to wreck further damage as Varun Chakravarthy dismissed the maverick batter for 39 runs off 33 deliveries with Shubman Gill hanging on to the catch offered up by the Australian.
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Team India topped Pool A with three wins in as many group stage games to set up the encounter against Australia, who came in second behind South Africa in Pool B.
