Follow UsComing in as a replacement player and playing his first game of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Cooper Connolly was having a terrible semi-final until he came onto bowl in the eighth over and dismissed India captain Rohit Sharma.
The 21-year-old was drafted into Australia’s playing XI for the semi-final in Dubai on March 4 (Tuesday) after Matt Short was ruled out because of an injury. The left-hander opened the innings after Australia opted to bat and looked completely clueless against Mohammed Shami.
Connolly could only get the bat to the ball three times, with one of them being an under-edge to KL Rahul behind the stumps. It was a wide delivery and Connolly went chasing, only to get a fine edge to the wicketkeeper.
The 21-year-old failed to open his account and registered the slowest duck (nine deliveries) for Australia in the Champions Trophy. Thanks to fifties from Steve Smith and Alex Carey, Australia posted a challenging total of 264.
Australia had enough runs on the board, but they needed an early wicket, and Rohit gave them an easy opportunity in the very second over. The Indian captain cut Nathan Ellis straight to backward point, where Connolly put down a regulation catch.
Then, in the next over, Rohit made a similar mistake he made in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup in Ahmedabad, getting a leading edge over the off-side inner circle. Like Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne made the run, got to the ball, and made an attempt with both hands but failed to hold onto the catch.
Rohit was on 15 off 11 at that stage and soon saw Shubman Gill drag one onto the stumps in the fifth over. India needed their captain to bat long and get them to a comfortable position, but the 37-year-old ended up throwing his wicket away to Connolly.
In the eighth over of the run-chase, Rohit tried to sweep a very full delivery from Connolly and failed to get any bat to it. The ball hit him right in front of the stumps and the umpire took no time in raising his finger. Despite two chances, Rohit could only manage 28 off 29.