For all the skill cricketers can develop, nothing can replace raw pace and brute force — with Rohit Sharma being a prime practitioner of the latter. The India skipper exhibited a prime example of the nature’s force he is when he slammed a ball down the ground, much to the horror of Chris Gaffaney.
India had their task cut out to make it to the Champions Trophy final after being set 265 to win in Dubai by Australia in the penultimate stage of the tournament. The islanders were buoyed by half-centuries from Steve Smith and Alex Carey, both widely varying in approach, after a powerplay blitzkrieg from Travis Head the like of which the Men in Blue tried to replicate through Rohit Sharma. The Indian skipper walked out brimming with intent as has been the case in the template the team has followed under his leadership in ODIs and while he managed to addd just 28 runs to the scorecard, the brief knock featured some breathtaking strokes with the magnum opus arriving on the final ball of the sixth over.
Nathan Ellis had bowled a consistent spell and tried to cap it off by pitching it on length while aiming at the stumps from over the wicket. However, his choice of delivery was far too predictable, as Rohit charged down the crease and flung his bat at the now-full delivery to send it crashing down the ground. Umpire Chris Gaffaney just had a second to respond and only barely managed to get out of the way as the Kookaburra flew over his head and into the boundary ropes. As the Kiwi official recovered to signal the boundary, the cameras caught him scrunging his face in relief and shock while processing what just occured while his hand seemed to instintively make its way to a throbbing heart.
Twitterati could not be more amused.
Straight!
No Chill
Rohit bro.. chill, that’s the Umpire, not Shama Mohamed 😭#INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/fdhWGHwdtg
— Shilpa (@shilpa_cn) March 4, 2025
Umpire 😨😂 reaction to Rohit’s shot.
Will India make it to Final?#INDvsAUS #ChampionsTrophy #RohitSharma𓃵 pic.twitter.com/bw5QoeYJz7— vyas laxminarayana(lakhan vyas) (@lakhan586) March 4, 2025
LOL
Nightmare
Condition of Umpire Chris Gaffney when Rohit Sharma hit that straight shot#INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/DzTYc1YIlV
— 👑Che_ಕೃಷ್ಣ🇮🇳💛❤️ (@ChekrishnaCk) March 4, 2025
Umpire se panga mat lo Rohit Sharma bhai. Pehle jeet jaane do 😭 pic.twitter.com/ay8MgiYymm
— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) March 4, 2025
Almost
Fear
The Reactions of Umpire on Rohit Sharma’s shot. 😀#INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/b644dkVH00
— Nadir 𝕏 (@iamsnadir) March 4, 2025
Rohit Sharma nearly Killed The Umpire! #RohitSharma𓃵#INDvsAUS#INDvAUSpic.twitter.com/mFR4MhqJ8Y
— Dr. Kiran J Patel (@kiranpatel1977) March 4, 2025
Awkward
