India, Feb. 20 -- India spinner Axar Patel, on Thursday, stood on the verge of history at the Dubai International Stadium. Only four India bowlers have picked up a hat-trick in ODI cricket, one of them being a spinner (Kuldeep Yadav., twice), but none came during a Champions Trophy game. Only once did a bowler pick up a hat-trick in the history of the 50-over tournament, Jerome Taylor of West Indies in 2006. However, Axar was denied the elusive feat after India captain Rohit Sharma dropped an easy catch at slip during the Group A game against Bangladesh.

On the second ball of the ninth over, Axar, into his first over in the match, dismissed Tanzid Hasan. The left-hander hung back against the flat ball on a length wide of off to push it t...