‘If HE had chased…my house would’ve been vandalised,’ Azhar Ali recalls 2017 CT final dropped catch horror

Former India captain Virat Kohli is regarded as one of the greatest chasers in world cricket. Having owned several mind-boggling run-chasing records to his name over the years, Kohli still couldn’t do it on all occasions. Remembering one such instance, the former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali recalled how dropping Kohli at the first slip during the 2017 Champions Trophy final at the Oval sent shivers down his spine. 

Chasing a mammoth 339 in the mega final against arch-rivals Pakistan, India had already lost opener Rohit Sharma out on zero to Mohammad Amir. The left-arm seamer looked pumped up and even got Kohli to edge one to the slip cordon, only for Azhar to drop it.

At that moment, Azhar didn’t even look up or around as all the Pakistani players looked stunned and disappointed. Knowing whom he had dropped, and what all was at stake, Azhar was all but terrified. However, as destiny had its way, Amir got Kohli out on the next ball caught at point by Shadab Khan on five. Eventually, following a poor start, India lost the final by a huge margin of 180 runs. 

Years later, the culprit during that moment, Azhar Ali opened up about how he felt when he dropped Virat. As quoted by Hindustan Times, Azhar revealed a lot crossed his mind during those two balls, as he felt burdened with weight and pressure. He added he hoped for Kohli to get out because had the Indian great chased down the target, Azhar’s house would have been vandalised.

“I saw it in reality. Between that drop catch and his dismissal, plenty of things flashed before my eyes. It felt as if I have been burdened with weight and pressure, and that the entire world is watching me asking as if ‘Look what he’s done’. That was my feeling and I thought ‘God forbid if he does what he is famous for… of he chases this down – he scores a lot in chases – my house will get vandalised’. Fortunately, I was just thinking about all these scenarios and he got out the next ball,” Azhar Ali said on ‘Hasna Mana Hai’.

On the flip side, Virat, over the past decade, has chased huge totals with his best coming against Pakistan only during the 2012 Asia Cup. Chasing 330, Kohli scored his career-best 183 and helped India win the match by six wickets.