WATCH - Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma drops catch on Axar Patel’s hat-trick ball, slams ground in frustration

India all-rounder Axar Patel found himself on the edge of a historic hat-trick only to be denied at the last moment in the highly-anticipated Champions Trophy 2025 clash between India and Bangladesh on February 20 at Dubai International Stadium.

The dashing left-arm spinner had Bangladesh reeling with two wickets in consecutive two balls, setting up an extraordinary moment as he was on the verge of taking a hat-trick. However a lapse in the field by Indian captain Rohit Sharma meant that the chance slipped away, leaving both the players dejected.

The match was elegantly poised as Axar came into bowl in the 9th over. With Bangladesh losing three quick wickets and looking to reconstruct the innings, Axar struck twice in two deliveries. He first got Tanzid Hasan and then Mushfiqur Rahim with another peach of a delivery, with wicketkeeper KL Rahul completing two excellent catches behind the stumps. Axar then bowled another sharp delivery, which took the outside edge of Jaker Ali's bat and went towards Rohit in the slips. 

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Rohit got both hands to the ball but eventually spilled the catch, with Axar missing the hat-trick. The Indian skipper slammed the ground in frustration before apologising to his teammate. The miss proved costly as Bangladesh’s lower order managed to rebuild the innings to some extent. 

Watch the video below: 

Earlier in the day, Mohammed Shami struck in the first over to dismiss opener Soumya Sarkar for a five-ball duck as he edged one behind. Harshit also struck in his first over, getting skipper Najmul Shanto caught by Virat Kohli in the covers.