In the ongoing Champions Trophy semi-final in Dubai, Australia’s captain Steve Smith won the coin toss and chose to bat first. India remained unchanged from their previous match, while Australia made two substitutions: Cooper Connolly replaced Matt Short, and spinner Tanveer Sangha came in for pacer Spencer Johnson.
This match marked India’s 14th consecutive loss in coin tosses in ODIs, a streak that began with the 2023 Cricket World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad. Separately, Rohit Sharma has now lost 11 consecutive ODI tosses, tying for the second-longest streak for a captain in ODIs.
Records for Most Consecutive Tosses Lost by an ODI Captain:
1. Brian Lara (West Indies, October 1998 to May 1999): 12 losses
2. Peter Borren (Netherlands, March 2011 to August 2013): 11 losses
2. Rohit Sharma (India, November 2023 to March 2025): 11 losses*
The internet responded to India’s unfortunate record with humor and memes:
Meanwhile, Cooper Connolly made his debut in the ICC Champions Trophy in this game, having previously played three ODIs during a tour of Sri Lanka earlier in the year.
Steve Smith explained his decision to bat first: “We will bat first. The surface looks quite dry. The team has had a couple of practice sessions and is ready. We expect the pitch to offer some turn. India is a very strong team. We have made two changes: Cooper Connolly comes in for Short, and Sangha replaces Johnson.”
Connolly is now the fourth-youngest player to represent Australia in an ICC ODI tournament.
India decided to stick with the same playing eleven. Consequently, spinner Varun Chakravarthy retained his place in the team, ahead of fast bowler Harshit Rana.
Rohit Sharma commented on losing the toss again: “I was prepared for both scenarios. Perhaps it’s better to lose the toss when you are uncertain. The pitch can change its behavior. We need to play good cricket regardless. We have been playing well in the previous three matches, and we aim to continue that. It will be a challenge. We are playing with the same team, wanting to build on our previous performance. Now that we are bowling first, we must bowl effectively and restrict them to a low score.”
Youngest Players to Represent Australia in ICC ODI Events:
20 years, 225 days – Andrew Zesers vs India, Delhi, CWC 1987
21 years, 66 days – Ricky Ponting vs Kenya, Visakhapatnam, CWC 1996
21 years, 90 days – Shane Watson vs New Zealand, Colombo SSC, CT 2002
21 years, 194 days – Cooper Connolly vs India, Dubai, CT 2025
21 years, 231 days – Mitchell Marsh vs England, Edgbaston, CT 2013
21 years, 264 days – Steven Smith vs Zimbabwe, Ahmedabad, CWC 2011
Playing XIs:
Australia: Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Steven Smith (capt), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha.
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy.
