India fast bowler Mohammed Shami replicated his semi-final gaffe by dropping New Zealand batsman Rachin Ravindra off his bowling in the Champions Trophy 2025 final on Sunday. Rachin pushed the ball straight at Mohammed Shami in the 7th over, and the latter made a reflexive effort to catch it. But the ball escaped his hands, and Rachin got away with a single. The dropped catch left skipper Rohit Sharma visibly agitated.
Rachin opened quickly, making 28 from 20 balls before this respite. While adding to India’s worries, Shami needed medical treatment after this incident.
Shami dropped catch of rachin ravindra #INDvsNZ #ChampionsTrophy2025pic.twitter.com/RqWPkLXtLe
— JAIU (@Jaideepptdr) March 9, 2025
The blood was dripping from Shami’s hands, and the physio immediately got to work. After five minutes, the pacer resumed bowling for India. This is not the first time that Shami dropped a catch off his own bowling in the Champions Trophy. The pacer dropped two catches in the semi-final against Australia earlier this week.
DRS Saves Rachin; Another Drop by Iyer
Rachin’s luck continued moments after Shami’s missed catch. He was given out caught behind off Varun Chakravarthy’s bowling but successfully used DRS to overturn the decision. On the very next delivery, Rachin attempted a big shot, only to be dropped by Shreyas Iyer near the boundary rope.
Despite multiple lifelines, Rachin’s innings came to an end when Kuldeep Yadav dismissed him with his very first delivery.
Rohit Sharma Loses 12th Straight Toss, Equals Brian Lara’s Record
Earlier during the game, Rohit Sharma lost his 12th straight ODI toss, joining the unwanted record of West Indies legend Brian Lara. India, though, proceeded with an unchanged playing XI for the final.
While speaking at the toss, Rohit was still upbeat despite his continued unlucky toss moments. “We’ve played here enough, batted first and bowled first, don’t mind batting second really. It hasn’t altered much, we’ve chased and won as well. It certainly gives you a lot of confidence, takes the toss out of the game. At the end of the day, what does matter is how well you wish to play.”
“That’s what we’ve discussed in the dressing room, not to worry about the toss and just play well, that’s what we’ve done and we need to do today too. New Zealand have been an extremely good side for so many years, they do play good cricket in ICC events. We have to face the challenge to play well against them now. Same team for us,” he added.
