India captain Rohit Sharma dropped a regulation catch to deny a hat-trick to Axar Patel. The all-rounder picked back-to-back wickets of Tanzid Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim and set Jaker Ali for his third but Rohit failed to clinch the catch in the first slip.
India captain Rohit Sharma dropped a sitter on the first slip to deny Axar Patel a hat trick. The left-arm spinner dismissed Tanzid Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim in back-to-back deliveries and in the fifth delivery of the ninth over, Axar pitched it in the good length and forced Jaker Ali to bend forward to defend. However, an edge pushed the ball to the first slip, where Rohit was stationed, but he failed to grab that.
The 37-year-old was extremely frustrated with his fielding effort and rammed his hand on the ground multiple times. He also apologised to Axar, who smiled and turned his back to bowl the final delivery of the over. Rohit meanwhile looked frustrated with his effort in the next few overs.
Meanwhile, in case Rohit would have grabbed the catch, Axar would have been the first Indian cricketer to clinch a hat trick in Champions Trophy history. Nevertheless, the all-rounder had a stunning start to the match and will be hoping to carry on with the momentum.
India play three spinners against Bangladesh
India naming five spinners for the Champions Trophy invited criticism from many former cricketers. In the opening game against Bangladesh on February 20, the Men in Blue named three spinners in the playing XI. Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav featured along with three pacers – Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya.
The pace duo of Shami and Rana launched a scathing attack on the Bangladesh batters right from the beginning. They were reduced to 26/3, courtesy of Shami’s double whammy and Rana dismissing Najmul Shanto for a duck. Bangladesh’s middle order batters failed to establish themselves as well. The Indian spinners dominated the middle phase and kept Jaker and Towhid Hridoy under pressure for the majority of the time.
