Watch: Australia opener Travis Head was dropped by Mohammed Shami off his own bowling, minutes into the first Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final between India and Australia.
Head, considered by many as India's biggest threat going into the semi-final, has been in great nick against Rohit Sharma's team over the last few years. In fact, four of his seven centuries, since the start of 2023, have been against India. This includes a World Test Championship final, an ODI World Cup final, as well as two in the recently-held Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Also read: Shami's angle and Varun's drift: How India can stop Travis Head in the Champions Trophy semi-final
He also smashed a 76 off 43 against India at the T20 World Cup last year, before being snapped up by Jasprit Bumrah, who is missing the Champions Trophy due to injury.
On Tuesday, Head squared off against Shami, who took the new ball alongside Hardik Pandya in Dubai. The first ball was a wide, an outswinger that swerved away past the wide tramlines. But Head was troubled by the next one.
1st Semi-Final, India vs Australia
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The first legitimate delivery of the match moved into Head off length. The left-hander closed the face of his bat a moment too early, getting a leading edge. The ball ballooned towards Shami, but managed to just evade his extended arm. Head survived – getting him out first ball would have been a dream for anyone cheering for the India team.
Head survived, but his opening partner Cooper Connolly, called up for Matthew Short, couldn't last long.
After a slew of plays-and-misses outside the off-stump, he got a thin edge that carried to wicketkeeper KL Rahul. Shami ended his misery, sending him back for a nine-ball duck.
Earlier, Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat first, making it the 14th consecutive time India were on the wrong side of a coin toss. Rohit Sharma himself has now lost 11 in a row, closing in on a world record.
Watch: Shami drops Head first ball of the semi-final
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