Rohit Sharma let an easy catch slip right out of his hands, and boom—there went Axar Patel’s shot at a hat-trick. Axar strolled in to bowl the ninth over—his first of the game—and shook up Bangladesh with two quick wickets. India kicked off their Champions Trophy campaign by putting Bangladesh in a real jam from the get-go. Bangladesh decided to bat first, but they kept losing guys left and right, with half their lineup back in the shed before the powerplay even wrapped up. Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana got the ball rolling early, and Axar picked up right where they left off. Coming in for the ninth over—his first—Axar turned things upside down by sending two Bangladesh batsmen packing in no time.
His second ball got rid of opener Tanzid Hasan, who was looking pretty comfy out there. The ball grazed the edge of his bat and went straight into KL Rahul’s gloves. Next ball, he sent the old hand Mushfiqur Rahim walking the same way—another edge, another snag for Rahul. To set Axar up for a hat-trick, captain Rohit Sharma threw in two slips and a leg slip. Axar tossed up a beauty, and the new batter, Zakir Ali, nicked it toward first slip. Rohit was right there, but he bobbled a dead-easy catch, and Axar’s hat-trick hopes went down the drain. If Rohit had grabbed it, Axar would’ve been only the second bowler ever to nab a hat-trick in the Champions Trophy. So far, just Jerome Taylor’s done it, way back in 2006 against Australia at Brabourne Stadium. Let’s walk through Axar’s wild over step by step.
Axar’s Big Over: Two Down, One Missed – First off, he snagged another wicket—Axar’s magic again. The umpire took forever to call it, though. It was a length ball drifting away, and the batter tried slicing it off the back foot. Got a fat edge, and Rahul scooped it up no problem. Next ball, another one bites the dust—Axar’s on a hat-trick now! This was a good-length ball sliding out. The batter bent forward to block it, but it spun off, kissed the edge, and Rahul grabbed it again, easy as pie. Then—what’s this? Rohit at first slip flubbed a total sitter! It was a full ball swinging out, and the batter went to defend. The catch floated right to Rohit’s left—a piece of cake—but it slipped out after he got his hands on it. After that, a length ball outside got tapped toward cover point. Then a fuller one on off stump got blocked nice and tight.
India’s Got Bangladesh on the Ropes – Bangladesh didn’t know what hit them in those opening overs. Shami and Rana came out firing, knocking over the top batsmen like it was nothing. Then Axar jumped in and kept the heat on, taking out two key players back-to-back. Rohit was counting on him to make it three, setting up the field just perfect with those slips. The crowd was buzzing—everyone thought history was in the making. Axar’s ball to Zakir Ali was bang on, teasing out the edge like a pro. It went straight to Rohit, and you’d swear he’d catch that blindfolded most days. But not this time—the ball got away, and you could almost hear the groans everywhere.
So Close to Something Special – If that catch had stuck, Axar would’ve crashed an exclusive party. Only Jerome Taylor’s bagged a hat-trick in this tournament before, back in 2006. Axar was inches away from being the second guy—and the first Indian—to pull it off in the Champions Trophy. That over was a whirlwind—two wickets, a hat-trick tease, and Rohit’s goof-up. You’d reckon Axar was bummed, but he held it together and finished the over like a champ. Still, it’s one of those moments that’ll hang around with the team and fans for a bit—Rohit too. Bet he had a quiet word with Axar after that slip!
