Rohit Sharma's coin toss raised eyebrows in New Zealand camp: report

Former Pakistani cricketer Sikandar Bakht had claimed that during the coin toss of the first semi-final between India and New Zealand, Rohit Sharma, the Indian skipper, intentionally threw the coin far away to prevent New Zealand’s captain, Kane Williamson, from seeing the outcome.

Bakht made these remarks while speaking with a local TV channel, suggesting that Sharma consistently tossed the coin in such a manner whenever he was in charge of the toss.

"If you see closely enough, whenever Rohit Sharma gets to flip the coin for the toss, he also tosses it far away from the other captain. It is almost far enough that the other captain never really gets to see what the actual outcome of the toss was," Bakht said.

During the coin toss, Williamson had relied on the match referee's word about the toss as the coin had landed few metres away. The match referee swiftly announced that India had won the toss. Subsequently, India posted a formidable total of 397-8 after choosing to bat first and successfully defended the score, securing a 70-run victory.

A recent report from Fox Cricket has cited a source from the New Zealand camp, indicating that Sharma's coin tosses had raised concerns within their team during the tournament.

The controversy surrounding the semi-final began before the match commenced, with media reports stating that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had pressured the International Cricket Council (ICC) to play the semi-final on a used playing surface instead of utilizing a fresh pitch for it.

Throughout the tournament, there have been unverified claims in the media suggesting that India was being favored to win the event, having won all 10 of their matches convincingly and securing a spot in the World Cup final unbeaten.

India is now set to face Australia in the World Cup final on Sunday at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.