Gill ton, Shami five-fer give India a winning start

Shubman Gill’s Century and Mohammed Shami’s Five-Wicket Haul Guide India to Victory in 2025 Champions Trophy

India began their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign with a comfortable six-wicket win over Bangladesh, thanks to a stellar five-wicket haul from Mohammed Shami and an unbeaten century from Shubman Gill. Despite a fighting knock from Towhid Hridoy, Bangladesh could not set a challenging target for India. After a slight middle-order stutter, India cruised to victory, with Gill and KL Rahul taking them over the line.

Bangladesh Struggles Early in Their Innings

• Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana made early inroads, reducing Bangladesh to 2/2 within the first two overs.
• Axar Patel further worsened the situation for Bangladesh, dismissing Tanzim Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim in quick succession, leaving the score at 35/5.
• A potential hat-trick opportunity was missed when Rohit Sharma dropped a simple catch off Jaker Ali at first slip.
• With Bangladesh reeling at 35/5, the match seemed almost over early.

Rescue Act by Hridoy and Jaker Ali

• Jaker Ali and Towhid Hridoy formed a crucial partnership, rebuilding the innings with careful batting.
• They kept the scoreboard ticking without taking excessive risks, as India’s spin trio dominated.
• Hridoy grew in confidence, playing a few boundaries and sixes, and brought up his maiden ODI century.
• The duo put on a 154-run partnership, with both reaching half-centuries.
• Shami finally broke the partnership by dismissing Jaker Ali for 68, and a mini-camera from Rishad Hossain took Bangladesh’s total past 200.
• Hridoy’s innings ended as he suffered from cramps, and Shami completed his five-wicket haul, dismissing him to finish with figures of 5/53.

India’s Chase: A Stuttering Start but Comfortable Finish

• India started their chase of 229 with aggression. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill put up 65 runs in the first nine overs, with Rohit reaching his 11,000th ODI run milestone.
• Mustafizur Rahman struggled as Rohit smashed five boundaries off his next two overs. Tanzim Hasan was also dispatched for a six by Gill, leaving India at 65/0.
• Taskin Ahmed got the breakthrough, dismissing Rohit Sharma for 45, but India’s scoring slowed down with the introduction of spin from Bangladesh.
• In the middle overs, Virat Kohli fell to a leg-spinner, and Shreyas Iyer miscued a shot, putting India under slight pressure.
• Axar Patel, who was promoted to bat, fell cheaply, leaving India with 85 more runs to chase.
• Bangladesh missed a crucial opportunity when Jaker Ali dropped KL Rahul with India still needing 63 runs to win.
• Rahul capitalized on the drop, hitting a six off Rishad Hossain, and Shubman Gill continued to anchor the innings, reaching his century with a beautiful shot over deep midwicket.

India Wraps Up Victory

• With the target nearing, Rahul sealed the win with another six.
• Shubman Gill finished unbeaten on 101*, marking his slowest ODI century but one of his most significant given the stage and situation.
• India reached 231/4 in 46.3 overs, successfully chasing down the target by six wickets.

Key Stats and Performances

• Bangladesh: 228 all out in 49.4 overs (Towhid Hridoy 100, Jaker Ali 68; Mohammed Shami 5/53, Harshit Rana 3/31)
• India: 231/4 in 46.3 overs (Shubman Gill 101*, KL Rahul 41*; Rishad Hossain 2/38)
• Result: India won by six wickets.

Conclusion

India’s dominant performance in the opening match of the 2025 Champions Trophy was built on an excellent bowling performance from Shami and a composed century from Shubman Gill. Despite a valiant effort from Hridoy, Bangladesh couldn’t post a sufficient total to challenge India, and the Men in Blue successfully chased down the target with ease.