Rohit Sharma tried hard to forget his dropped catch during a recent match. He hit the ground with his hands, apologized to bowler Axar Patel, and was really upset for at least two overs. The commentators even teased him, wondering if there should be a fine for how hard he was scolding himself. But why was he so upset about a drop catch? Because it was a special moment—Axar was on the verge of getting his very first hat-trick in cricket.
Only four Indian bowlers have achieved a hat-trick in One Day Internationals (ODIs). And there was only one previous hat-trick in ICC Champions Trophy history, done by Jerome Taylor from the West Indies in 2006. So, a hat-trick is very rare!
Axar had worked hard to set it up. He outsmarted Bangladeshi batter Jaker Ali, getting him to edge the ball. Rohit put two slips in place, hoping to catch it. But he mistimed his dive and the ball fell to the ground. Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who was commentating at the time, remarked that a dropped catch while going for a hat-trick would be remembered for a long time.
Rohit was clearly frustrated with himself. He shook his head so much that viewers started to feel dizzy! He scolded himself saying, “He’s giving gaalis (swear words) to himself,” noted Gavaskar.
What made matters worse for India was that if Rohit had caught the ball, Bangladesh would have been 35/6. Instead, Jaker Ali and Towhid Hridoy built a huge 154-run partnership, turning the game around for Bangladesh and helping them set a strong score.
India’s fielding also got sloppy as the game went on. While Virat Kohli made some great catches early on, after Rohit’s drop, things went downhill. Hardik Pandya missed a catch off Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling, giving Hridoy another chance. And later, Ravindra Jadeja fooled Jaker Ali, but KL Rahul couldn’t catch the ball, missing a stumping chance. There were also too many boundaries given away late in the game, allowing Bangladesh to finish with a decent total.
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