Umpire fears for life after Rohit Sharma hits ball straight at him, holds his chest with weird smile at Virat Kohli

Rohit Sharma smashing shot was heading straight to umpire Chris Gaffaney, who had to bring all his reflexes into play to somehow get out of the ball's way.

Rohit Sharma is called the 'Hitman" for a reason. He is one of the cleanest ball-strikers cricket has ever seen, and ever since he has decided to be the out-and-out aggressor in the powerplay, he has become a nightmare for new-ball bowlers across the globe. Ye to take the Champions Trophy 2025 by storm with a big score, Rohit once again took the aggressive route in the semi-final match against Australia at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai on Tuesday.

Rohit Sharma knocks umpire Gaffaney off his feet

Rohit knew very well that using the field restrictions would be of utmost importance in the tricky 265-run chase against Australia. He hit three sixes and a boundary to make his intentions crystal clear. Among his four bid shots, there was a booming shot straight down the ground off Nathan Ellis in the last ball of the sixth of India's chase that put umpire, Chris Gaffaney, in real danger.

Predicting Ellis' length early, Rohit charged down the track and smashed the ball with the sweetest connection possible. It was heading straight to umpire Gaffaney, who had to bring all his quick reflexes into play to somehow get out of the ball's way and save himself.

The ball raced to the boundary in no time. As Gaffaney signalled a boundary, he thanked his fortune for evading an injury. When he turned to Rohit and Virat Kohli, who were glove-bumping in the middle of the pitch, umpire Gaffaney held his chest and had a weird smile on his face. Rohit held his tongue out in an apologetic manner.

Rohit's threatening innings, however, came to a premature end when he tried to play a slog sweep off all-rounder Cooper Connolly in the 8th over. The ball hit his pads and the umpire had no hesitation in declaring him out. Rohit walked back to the pavilion after scoring 28 off 29 balls. India had already lost Shubman Gill (8) early in the chase when he chopped a Ben Dwarshuis delivery back on to his stumps.

Earlier, Australia skipper Steve Smith hit 73 and the left-handed Carey smashed 61 to put on the highest total at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the ongoing 50-over tournament.

India pace spearhead Mohammed Shami stood out with figures of 3-48 as Australia's innings lasted 49.3 overs. Spinners Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets each.