The tradition of awarding the ‘Fielder of the Match’ continued in the Indian dressing room after their thrilling victory over Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final in Dubai on March 4. However, the moment turned hilarious when former head coach Ravi Shastri mistakenly addressed Gautam Gambhir as fielding coach T Dilip, leaving Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and the entire squad in splits.
Shastri’s Blunder Sparks Laughter in Dressing Room
India’s fielding coach T Dilip shortlisted Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Virat Kohli as contenders for the award. Ravi Shastri was invited to present the medal, and as he got ready to announce the winner, he looked around and called out “Dilip!”, searching for the fielding coach.
In a hilarious twist, Shastri was actually facing head coach Gautam Gambhir, mistaking him for T Dilip. The dressing room erupted in laughter, with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma visibly amused. Meanwhile, the actual T Dilip was standing right beside Shastri, holding the medal the whole time.
Finally realizing his mistake, Shastri corrected himself and handed the medal to Shreyas Iyer, declaring, “And the heavyweight medal, it’s heavy. It goes to Shreyas Iyer.”
𝗗𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗧𝗦 | 𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 | #INDvAUS
It was a battle of heavyweights 💪
🎙️And there was just one voice that "roared" in the dressing room to announce the winner 🏅😎#TeamIndia | #ChampionsTrophyhttps://t.co/lA6G3SRlG4
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 5, 2025
Shreyas Iyer’s Match-Winning Fielding Effort
Iyer played a crucial role in the field, taking a catch of Ben Dwarshuis and executing a direct-hit run-out of Alex Carey in the 48th over. His brilliance at deep backward square leg helped India restrict Australia to 264, preventing them from setting a higher total.
Efforts of Other Contenders
- Shubman Gill: Saved three runs in the first over and caught Travis Head while running in the outfield.
- Ravindra Jadeja: Showed incredible reflexes off his own bowling, despite bleeding from his left hand after removing the taping.
- Virat Kohli: Took three catches (Josh Inglis, Nathan Ellis) and helped save crucial runs before scoring 84 runs to win the ‘Player of the Match’ award.
India Marches to Champions Trophy Final
With this win, India secured their spot in the Champions Trophy final and will face the winner of New Zealand vs South Africa on March 9, 2025, in Dubai.
