“’What Have You Done?’: Rohit Shockingly Misses Indian Teammate’s Hat-Trick Ball in Stunning Champions Trophy Incident”

Veteran Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma missed a straightforward catch that would have given his teammate Axar Patel the first hat-trick in Champions Trophy history in nearly two decades.

Shubman Gill’s unbeaten century guided India to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Bangladesh, marking the start of their campaign on Friday.

Fast bowler Mohammed Shami excelled with figures of 5-53, helping to dismiss Bangladesh for 228 runs. The Tigers struggled at 5-35 by the ninth over, but a maiden international century from Towhid Hridoy helped salvage their innings.

In response, Gill led India’s chase with his eighth one-day international century, finishing with 101 not out off 129 balls. India successfully reached 4-231 with 21 balls remaining.

Gill struck nine fours and two sixes during his innings, forming a solid partnership of 69 runs off 59 balls with captain Rohit at the top of the order, and later adding 87 runs off 98 balls alongside Lokesh Rahul, who remained unbeaten on 41 and hit the winning six.

“Gill has been an outstanding player; his class is undeniable,” Sharma remarked after the game.

“We know the talent he has,” Sharma added. “He showed remarkable composure and was there till the end.”

Bangladesh, having won the toss, chose to bat first at Dubai International Cricket Stadium but found themselves in dire straits early on.

Soumya Sarkar was dismissed after being caught behind off Shami’s bowling in the first over, and skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto followed soon after, caught at cover by Harshit Rana.

Shami struck again in the seventh over, having Mehidy Hasan Miraz caught in the slips, leaving Bangladesh reeling.

In the ninth over, things took a sharp turn for Bangladesh. Tanzid Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim were both dismissed behind the stumps, leaving Axar Patel with a chance at a hat-trick. The Champions Trophy has witnessed only one hat-trick, 19 years ago.

Patel induced an edge from Jaker Ali, but the catch was spilled by Rohit in slips.

Commentator Harsha Bhogle exclaimed, “What have you done?” while Mike Atherton termed it “unbelievable.”

Rohit quickly apologised to Patel, saying, “I might just take Axar out for dinner tomorrow. That should have been an easy catch.”

Instead of being 6-35 in the powerplay, Bangladesh managed to recover and capitalise.

Ali and Hridoy put together a solid partnership of 154 runs off 206 balls for the sixth wicket, as India eased off the pressure.

Hridoy was also fortunate to get dropped by Hardik Pandya in the 20th over off Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling.

Ali remained not out on 68 before he was eventually caught at long on off Shami, who celebrated his 200th wicket in ODIs with that dismissal.

Hridoy continued to build on the innings, achieving his hundred—his first not only in ODIs but in any format. His 100 came off 118 balls with six boundaries and two sixes.

The pair helped Bangladesh surpass 200 runs by the 45th over, but despite scoring 63 runs in the final ten overs, their total was still below par.

“The way we batted in the first powerplay was a big issue, costing us dearly,” Shanto admitted. “It was tough for the lower order to recover from that setback. We were approximately 25 to 30 runs short. Nevertheless, I must commend the performance of Hridoy and Jaker.”

Alongside Shami’s sixth five-wicket haul in ODIs, on a pitch that assisted spinners, Rana also impressed with figures of 3-31 while Patel recorded 2-43.