In a spectacular display of slip fielding, veterarn India opener Rohit Sharma scripted a rare piece of cricket history during the third and final ODI against Afghanistan at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday, June 20.
Rohit stationed at first slip, pouched three sharp catches off the bowling of Prasidh Krishna, accounting for Afghanistan’s first three wickets. By pulling off a magnificent hat-trick of catches in the slips, Rohit became only the fourth Indian fielder in One-Day International (ODI) history to effect the first three dismissals of an innings. In doing so, Rohit joined an elite list featuring former Indian cricketers Sourav Ganguly, Manoj Tiwary, and Suresh Raina.
The Prasidh-Rohit Show Lights Up Chepauk
Winning the toss and electing to bat first proved to be a costly decision for Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi. Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna came out breathing fire, striking on the very first ball of his opening spell. He induced a thick outside edge from the dangerous Rahmanullah Gurbaz (5), which flew straight to Rohit Sharma at first slip.
The identical formula repeated itself twice more in quick succession. In the sixth over, Rahmat Shah (5) tried to flick a back-of-a-length delivery but only managed a leading edge into Rohit’s waiting hands. Two overs later, Ibrahim Zadran (11) chased a wide delivery, providing yet another routine edge to the slip cordon.
Joining The Elite List Of Indians
While Rohit is widely celebrated for his explosive batting records, his sharp reflexes in the slip cordon have quietly built an enviable legacy. Prior to this match, only three other Indian fielders had ever been involved in the first three wickets of an ODI innings:
Sourav Ganguly vs West Indies (Vadodara, 2002)
Manoj Tiwary vs West Indies (North Sound, 2011)
Suresh Raina vs Sri Lanka (Cardiff, 2013)
Rohit Sharma vs Afghanistan (Chennai, 2026)
A History-Making Duo
While Ganguly, Tiwary and Raina achieved this feat with different bowlers picking up the wickets, the Rohit-Prasidh combination created a unique piece of history. For the first time in India’s 1,078-ODI history, the exact same bowler-fielder pair accounted for the first three consecutive wickets of an innings.
Additionally, Rohit became only the third Indian fielder to take three catches off the same bowler in an ODI match, joining VVS Laxman and Shikhar Dhawan.
Three catches by a fielder off a bowler in an ODI (India)
VVS Laxman off Irfan Pathan vs Zim Perth 2004
Shikhar Dhawan off Jasprit Bumrah vs Ban Dubai 2018
Rohit Sharma off Prasidh Krishna vs Afg Chennai 2026 *
With the series already secured, the final ODI was meant to be a testing ground for experimental combinations ahead of upcoming England tour. However, the afternoon belonged entirely to the clinical synchronization between Prasidh’s raw pace and Rohit Sharma’s flawless catching ability at slip.
Playing XIs For IND vs AFG 1st ODI
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (captain), Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna, and Prince Yadav
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Ahmad Malik
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