New Zealand will be without Matt Henry in the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy against India.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and opted to bat in the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy, at Dubai. The result stretched India’s world record of most consecutive toss defeats in ODIs to 15. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, too, equalled Brian Lara’s individual record of 12 consecutive toss defeats in the format.
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There had been speculations around Henry’s availability for the final. The leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 10 scalps (five of which came in the league match against India), Henry he had injured his shoulder while catching Heinrich Klaasen in the semi-final.
New Zealand replaced Henry with Nathan Smith, the seam-bowling all-rounder in their squad.
India, meanwhile, are unchanged. Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja became the first cricketers to appear in the final of three consecutive editions of the Champions Trophy. Brian Lara (1998, 2004, 2006), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (1998, 2004, 2006), and Yuvraj Singh (2000, 2002, 2017) are the only others with three appearances in the final – if one counts the 2002 final as one game, that is.
Playing XIs of Champions Trophy 2025 final:
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Tom Latham (wk), Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Will O’Rourke.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (wk), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy.
