WATCH: Mohammed Shami drops Travis Head to give Australia batter huge reprieve early in the game

Indian seamer Mohammed Shami dropped a return catch in the first over of the game. The batter whose catch was dropped was none other than that of Travis Head who has been a huge threat for India in the last few months. Shami came round the wicket in the very first over of the game and bowled a wide ball to get the game going. 

In the first legal ball of the game, Shami got Head in trouble as the batter tried to play the ball to the leg-side. Head saw the ball rise from a length and take the leading edge with Shami still on his follow through put his right hand out. Indian pacer tried to grab the catch but it didn’t stick giving the Aussie batter a huge early lease of life. 

Watch the video here - 

Rohit Sharma's reaction on Shami missing the opportunity gifted by Travis Head 🫣 pic.twitter.com/xECGhGAiT4

— Radha (@Rkc1511165) March 4, 2025

Rohit Sharma and rest of the Indian team knew it was a huge moment very early in the game. Head scored 137 in the 2023 ODI World Cup finals against India and getting the destructive batter out early would have given India a huge boost. The 31-year-old has been in tremendous form with the bat and played a huge role for Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. 

Team India opts to go in with four spinners on a slow pitch 

Steve Smith opted to bat first after winning the toss and this was the 11th time that Rohit Sharma had lost the toss. Varun Chakravarthy retained his place in the team ahead of Harshit Rana after his fifer in the last game against New Zealand. Australia also have three spinners in Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha, Cooper Connolly, and the part time off-spin of Glenn Maxwell. 

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting recently spoke to ICC where he was asked to give his views on the first semi-finals. The former Aussie skipper said, “Probably a little bit different to the World Cup final.” Even before the game could begin social media was abuzz with Travis Head's potential battle with Indian bowlers. 

Ponting also said, “I know Travis did what he did but the bowlers did a great job in that as well. Cummins did a great job with his spell. Adam Zampa is another one. If in the middle overs he can make an impact for Australia, then he'll silence the crowd too."