Mohammed Shami's dropped catch of Travis Head sparks fear among Team India fans: 'Dropped the Champions Trophy'

Travis Head, the tormentor of the Indian cricket team, was given an early reprieve as Mohammed Shami dropped his catch on the first ball of the India vs Australia Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final on Tuesday (4 March) in Dubai.

Shami created the opportunity in the very first over of the match after Australia won the toss and decided to bat first. Head was guilty of trying to close the bat-face early on a slightly short ball. The leading edge quickly popped back to the bowler, but Shami could not hold onto it.

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The Indian team will only hope Head doesn’t end up making the most of the second chance offered to him by Shami, as fans very well remember how the left-handed opener smashed 137 in the final against the Men in Blue and led the Aussies to the 2023 ODI World Cup title.

Head has always enjoyed a good record against India, scoring 345 runs in nine ODIs at an average of 43.12. He also recently made 448 runs in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Indian fans fear the worst after Head survives against Shami

Head surviving a catch on the first ball led to sharp reactions from Indian cricket team fans who are worried it could come back to bite them. One fan wrote on the social media platform X that Shami has “dropped the Champions Trophy”.

“Steve Waugh to Herschelle Gibbs: ‘Mate, you just dropped the Worldcup’. Travis Head to Mohammed Shami: ‘Mate, you just dropped the Champions Trophy,’” he wrote

Another fan said that dismissing Head would have been the “perfect start” for India.

“Travis Head gone on zero would have been a perfect start for India, Mohammed Shami had other ideas.”

Here’s one more reaction: “That 1st over drop was an aberration. Travis Head’s first legitimate ball on bat, since pitches are slower in UAE than Pakistan, Head mistimed a bit. Now he wud ve had a hang of it. Shami did a blunder.”

Karthik hopes India dismiss Head early

Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik had said earlier that Head is a “mental block” for India and getting his wicket will be very important.

“It used to be New Zealand for a wee bit. In these knockout games, they always had the better of India, but you have to say it’s Australia at this point of time. If at all, there is a team that they would think that on most days they’ll challenge India has to be Australia. And it’s actually what Ravi Shastri said, you know, at this point of time, the mental block is more one player than Australia itself, Travis Head,” Karthik said on the Sky Sports podcast.

“He (Head) has actually, in any format. And they will be looking for that wicket because that wicket early will actually make them breathe a lot easier for the rest of the game, because World Test Championship Final, the recently concluded Australia Series, World Cup Final, you take any big game, he’s actually scored once. And he’s been the difference between winning and losing,” said Karthik.