Blood drips from Mohammed Shami's hands after third consecutive drop; Rachin Ravindra missed again.

Rachin Ravindra and Will Young got New Zealand off to a strong start in the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 final against India, as captain Mitchell Santner chose to bat after winning the toss at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. In the seventh over, Mohammed Shami had the opportunity to dismiss the left-handed Rachin, but he couldn't hold onto the catch off his own bowling.

Rachin Ravindra chipped back the good-length delivery, and the ball went to Shami's left. However, the pacer could not hold on to the ball as it hit the end of his left hand.

Shami first seemed to be ducking, and towards the end, he put out his left hand to try to catch the ball. However, it was not to be. The Indian pacer then signalled for the physio to come out as the ball struck him hard on the left hand.

The blood was dripping from Shami's hands, and the physio immediately got to work. After five minutes, the pacer resumed bowling for India.

This is not the first time that Shami dropped a catch off his own bowling in the Champions Trophy. The pacer dropped two catches in the semi-final against Australia earlier this week.

Soon after, Rachin Ravindra got another life off the bowling of Varun Chakaravarthy in the eighth over. The left-handed Kiwi batter went for a big booming sweep, but he only managed to top-edge it. However, Shreyas Iyer failed to capitalise in the deep.

Rachin Ravindra and Will Young's rear-guard action helped New Zealand put on the highest opening stand against India in the 2025 edition of the Champions Trophy. The duo scored 57 runs for the first wicket. However, Varun Chakaravarthy cut short the partnership, dismissing Will Young for 15 off 23 balls.

New Zealand win toss, opt to bat

Earlier, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and opted to bat first. Pacer Matt Henry failed to pass the fitness and was ruled out from the playing XI. Nathan Smith was named as his replacement.

On the other hand, India went in with the same playing XI as the semi-final against Australia. This is the 12th consecutive time in ODIs that Rohit Sharma lost the toss.

Speaking at the toss, Rohit said, "We've been here enough, batted first and bowled first, don't really mind batting second. It hasn't changed much, we've chased and won as well. It does give you a lot of confidence, takes the toss away from the game. At the end of the day, what matters is how well you want to play."

"That's what we've spoken about in the dressing room, not to worry about the toss and to just play well, that's what we've done and we have to do today as well. New Zealand have been a very good team over the past so many years, they tend to play good cricket in ICC tournaments. The challenge for us is to play well against them now. Same team for us," he added.

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