Rohit Sharma leaps in vain as he drops Daryl Mitchell on 37 off Axar Patel's bowling in IND vs NZ 2025 Champions Trophy Final [Watch]

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma spilled a tough chance off Axar Patel's bowling to hand Daryl Mitchell a lifeline in the 2025 Champions Trophy Final against New Zealand. It continues the team's tough day on the field in terms of catching as they have already dropped multiple catches in the innings at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, March 9.

The well-settled middle-order batter was batting on 37, as New Zealand looked to get a move on against the Indian spinners in the middle overs. The Blackcaps were struggling to have a say as they were strangled by the spin quartet from both ends.

Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips tried to build a partnership and a launching pad ahead of the final powerplay by rotating the strike, and taking the odd risk at times. India, on the other hand, were in search of a breakthrough to bring the lower middle-order and the all-rounders into play.

In the fifth ball of the 35th over, Mitchell tried to send the ball into the huge gap in on the leg side by taking on a shortish delivery by Axar Patel. The right-handed batter rocked back into the crease and tried to go over the fielder at midwicket. He got a decent connection, but could not get a definite elevation over Rohit Sharma.

The Indian skipper leaped full length in a bid to pluck the ball out of thin air, but could not hold onto the chance. Have a look at the dropped catch right here in the video shared by @kaisanbaaaa on X:

Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Shami dropped opportunities while Rachin Ravindra was batting. Shubman Gill also spilled a chance off Ravindra Jadeja's bowling in the 36th over.

Rohit Sharma had dropped a simple catch off Axar Patel's bowling in the opening match against Bangladesh to deny the all-rounder a historic hat-trick.

Daryl Mitchell reaches his fifty off 91 deliveries in 2025 Champions Trophy Final

The middle-order batter is still holding one end as the innings heads into the third powerplay. New Zealand lost Glenn Phillips' wicket as Varun Chakaravarthy castled him in the 38th over.

As of writing, Mitchell is batting on 50 off 91 deliveries, with the score reading 178-5 after 42 overs. New Zealand are desperate to switch gears as Michael Bracewell and the all-rounders are set to play a huge role in the upcoming overs.