India’s Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh offered subplots galore as the Tigers kept offering resistance whenevr the Men in Blue seemed to have them pinned against the wall. The Tigers first recovered from 35/5 to a competitive first innings total of 228 and then weathered an assault in the powerplay to restraint India from 69/0 in the 10th over to 144/4 after 30, leaving the equation reading a tense 85 required from 120 balls. However, as has historically been the case for the nation, the team let slip its chances just when it mattered the most and unsurprisingly paid the price.
On the second ball of the 37th over, with KL Rahul struggling on nine off 19 deliveries, the veteran tried to break the shackles by having Taskin Ahmed beyond the fences on the legside. However, Rahul failed to get a good enough connection or find the gap as the Kookaburra travelled straight down the throat of Jaker Ali at deep square leg. The wicket was as inevitable as it gets and the catch mere regulation at even club level but in a shocking twist of fate, the white rock popped out of Jaker’s hand and hit the deck much to the ire of Taskin.
Ironically, it was Jaker himself who had helped reconstruct the Bangladesh innings with an uncharacteristic 68 off 114 balls, and nearly registered a golden duck were it not for Rohit letting slip a dolly to deny Axar Patel a hattrick. The cameras showed the Indian skipper hugely relieved once KL survived, expressed with an instinctive giggle, before animatedly ranting to his teammates about how the game had come full circle. Twitterati was not one to disagree.
Dropped it
He enjoyed it
Captain Rohit Sharma’s reaction when KL Rahul’s catch got dropped 🥶. pic.twitter.com/I87Jc8DXnN
— Ashutosh Tripathi⁴⁵ (@abhiashu0798) February 20, 2025
Rohit Sharma Reaction when Kl Rahul Catch Dropped. pic.twitter.com/KDOR2cTriW
— Vikas Yadav (@VikasYadav66200) February 20, 2025
LOL
Karma
– Rohit Sharma dropped Jaker Ali on 0 when Axar Patel was on a hattrick.
– Jaker Ali dropped KL Rahul on a crucial Juncture of the match.
Rohit Sharma reacts on his drop catch remembering he dropped him on 0. #RohitSharma #INDvsBAN #INDvBAN #CricketUpdate #BCCI #JakerAli pic.twitter.com/gFDWhvF1MZ— Priyanshu Kumar (@priyanshusports) February 20, 2025
A Huge Let-Off for KL Rahul! 🚨🏏
Jaker Ali spills a simple catch, and Rohit Sharma’s reaction says it all! 😱🤦♂️
India could have been in serious trouble if Rahul had fallen.#IndvsBan #INDvBAN #KLRahul #ChampionsTrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/aovpFgPeca— Mursaleen wafai (@MursaleenWafai) February 20, 2025
Turning point
Says it all
Rohit Sharma Reaction When Jaker Ahli Drop Kl Rahul Catch
#IndvsBan #INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/SbEYEGQGq9— Bhabananda Saikia (@B65297) February 20, 2025
DID ROHIT JUST SAY I DROPPED YOU TOO WHEN J ALI DROPPED THE CATCH 😭😭😭
— CUP NAMDU (@timepasshai) February 20, 2025
LOL
Rohit Sharma ne catch chhodne par jo react kiya hai , uske liye tareef ho rhi 😭😭
— Baba (@babaprempujari) February 20, 2025
