Rohit immediately slapped the ground repeatedly in frustration, apologised to his bowler and even promised him dinner at the end of the match. But none of that flattery promises to compensate for a missed hat-trick. Watching Rohit drop the catch took Akram back when he was in Axar’s position years ago. Back then, too, it was his captain, Imran Khan, who let the ball slip through his fingers.

“When my hat-trick was dropped, I ended up apologising to my captain. Galti ho gayi, I’m sorry. Axar may not feel it right away because the team won the match and all but. He will move on very quickly. He will realise it after 2-3 years when he’s alone sleeping in a room. He’ll think I could have claimed my hat-trick. It’s very rare for a captain to drop a catch to miss hat-trick, but the worst feeling must be Rohit’s,” he said on the DP World Dressing Room show in the presence of Waqar Younis, Cheteshwar Pujara and Nikhil Chopra.

That Shane Warne drop off Damien Fleming

Akram didn’t rue it much though as he ended up picking four hat-tricks in international cricket during his unparalleled career.

Akram and Axar aren’t the only players whose teammate denied them a hat-trick. During the first Test match against India at the Adelaide Oval. Fleming had dismissed Sourav Ganguly and Ajit Agarkar off successive deliveries, but Shane Warme couldn’t latch on to the ball, flying off the thick edge of Javagal Srinath’s bat. Fleming was quick to console Warne, patting him on the back at the end of the over.