Shubman Gill’s unbeaten century (101* off 129 balls, 9×4, 2×6) and a stellar five-wicket haul by veteran pacer Mohammed Shami (5/53 in 10 overs) powered India to a commanding six-wicket victory over Bangladesh in their opening Group A match of the 2025 Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
Gill, Rahul Steady India After Early Wobbles
Chasing 229, India found themselves in a tricky position at 144/4 in the 31st over. However, Gill, the world’s No. 1 ODI batter, held his composure and found solid support from KL Rahul (41* off 47 balls, 1×4, 2×6). The duo stitched together an unbeaten 87-run stand in 98 balls, guiding India home comfortably. With this win, the tournament favorites now turn their focus to their highly anticipated clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday.
Continuing his fine form from the England series, Gill looked in sublime touch right from the start. He set the tone in the first over, pulling Taskin Ahmed for a boundary. Whether charging down the track to drive past covers or dispatching short balls with ease, Gill played with authority. His moment of brilliance came when he flicked Tanzim Hasan Sakib for a six over deep mid-wicket to bring up his eighth ODI century.
India’s chase began on a positive note, with skipper Rohit Sharma (41 off 36 balls, 7×4) adding 69 runs in just 59 balls alongside Gill. Rohit took an aggressive approach, smashing three fours in an over off Mustafizur Rahman. However, his dismissal while attempting another boundary off Taskin Ahmed triggered a brief collapse.
Virat Kohli (22 off 38 balls, 1×4), Shreyas Iyer (15 off 17 balls, 2×4), and Axar Patel (8) fell to soft dismissals, momentarily putting India under pressure. Kohli cut a harmless Rishad Hossain delivery straight to backward point, Iyer mistimed a lofted shot, and Axar top-edged a slog sweep.
Rahul, however, played a composed innings, sealing the win with a powerful hook for six off Tanzim in the 47th over. He had an early stroke of luck when Jaker Ali dropped him on nine off Taskin Ahmed, but he made the most of the reprieve. His fluent batting reaffirmed why India prefers him as an ODI wicketkeeper-batsman over Rishabh Pant.
Shami’s Record-Breaking Spell, Hridoy’s Gritty Century
Earlier, Mohammed Shami marked his return to top form in style, becoming the fastest Indian to reach 200 ODI wickets. His spell played a crucial role in dismantling Bangladesh, who were struggling at 35/5 in the ninth over before Towhid Hridoy (100 off 118 balls, 6×4, 2×6) and Jaker Ali (68 off 114 balls, 4×4) staged a fightback.
Bangladesh, after choosing to bat first, suffered an early collapse. Soumya Sarkar fell for a five-ball duck, edging Shami behind. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto followed suit, caught by Virat Kohli off debutant Harshit Rana, who justified his selection over Arshdeep Singh with figures of 3/31 in 7.4 overs.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz (5) nicked one to slip, where Gill took a sharp catch off Shami. Axar Patel then struck twice in two balls, removing Tanzid Hasan (25) and Mushfiqur Rahim (0), both caught behind by Rahul. Rohit Sharma dropped Jaker Ali on nought, a costly miss as he went on to add 154 runs for the sixth wicket with Hridoy.
Despite their resistance, Bangladesh crumbled once Jaker fell to a long-on catch by Kohli off Shami. Their last five wickets tumbled for just 39 runs, folding up for 228 in 49.4 overs.
For Shami, it was a historic day. The 34-year-old overtook Ajit Agarkar (133 innings) as the fastest Indian to 200 ODI wickets, achieving the feat in just 103 innings. He also surpassed Zaheer Khan’s 59 wickets to become India’s leading wicket-taker in ICC tournaments.
With a dominant win under their belt, India now gears up for their high-stakes clash against Pakistan, while Bangladesh will look to recover from this setback in their next game.
