Mumbai: In a challenging opening match of the Champions Trophy, Shubman Gill anchored India’s chase with his slowest ODI hundred, ensuring a hard-fought victory over Bangladesh. India successfully chased a tricky target of 229, overcoming a spirited fightback by Bangladesh, reminiscent of their struggles on similarly slow tracks during their 3-0 series defeat to Sri Lanka.
Mohammed Shami was instrumental in restricting Bangladesh, claiming his sixth ODI five-wicket haul. He became the fastest bowler to reach 200 ODI wickets in terms of balls bowled. India had Bangladesh reeling at 35 for 5, thanks to early breakthroughs by Axar Patel and Shami. However, fielding lapses allowed Bangladesh to recover, with Towhid Hridoy scoring a resilient century. Three dropped catches and a record-breaking sixth-wicket stand helped Bangladesh post a competitive total that denied India a crucial net run-rate boost.
Winning the toss, Bangladesh opted to bat first on a dry, slow surface. Their top order collapsed due to rash shot selections, giving away wickets to good-length deliveries. Axar Patel’s double strike further deepened their woes, but Hridoy’s determined ton, aided by Jaker Ali and Rishad Hossain, pushed the total to 229.
India’s fielding, however, was far from perfect. Rohit Sharma dropped a crucial catch that could have secured Axar a hat-trick, while Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul also missed opportunities. Despite this, Shami’s tactical bowling at the death curtailed Bangladesh’s late surge.
India started their chase aggressively, with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill adding 69 runs for the opening stand. Rohit fell for 41 off 36, just before the field restrictions eased. Thereafter, batting became difficult, and even Virat Kohli struggled before falling to Rishad Hossain.
Shreyas Iyer’s brief resistance ended when he mistimed a slower ball, and Axar Patel’s promotion to break the sequence of right-hand batters backfired. KL Rahul, too, looked shaky, surviving a dropped catch early on. However, Gill’s composed innings provided the much-needed stability.
Adjusting to the sluggish surface, Gill shifted gears cautiously. He was 26 off 23 when Rohit departed but then adopted a more measured approach. His next boundary came only in the 32nd over off Tanzim Hasan.Despite scoring his slowest ODI half-century, Gill played the role of an anchor expertly, rotating strike and avoiding unnecessary risks. When the finishing line approached, he accelerated, hitting a six and a four to reach his century off 125 balls. KL Rahul sealed the win with a six, ensuring India’s victory with 21 balls to spare.
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