In their Champions Trophy opener against India, Bangladesh struggled early, falling to 35 for 5. Despite this, Towhid Hridoy’s impressive 100 off 118 balls and a sixth-wicket partnership of 154 with Jaker Ali helped stabilize the innings. Hridoy acknowledged the challenges of batting on a tricky pitch but felt they could have scored more runs. With only 228 runs, Bangladesh put up a fight against India’s strong batting lineup, managing to restrict them at times. Ultimately, Hridoy believed earlier wickets could have changed the match’s outcome, as India won comfortably.
“We had a clear plan if we won the toss, and that was to bat. Although we lost some early wickets, which set us back, the way Jaker and I bounced back was vital. If either of us had performed just a bit better, we could have reached 260-270,” Hridoy remarked during the press interaction afterward. “The match scenario would have been much different then. We fell short by about 30-40 runs. If you look at it, they took 46.3 overs to complete the chase, which indicates it wasn’t an easy task.”
“The pitch was tricky. Look at their innings; they didn’t seem too comfortable either. But we can’t control the conditions. Every venue has different challenges, and we must adapt to the pitch we receive. This isn’t an excuse; I’m just pointing out that batting was difficult on this surface.”
Hridoy came to the crease at No. 5 when Bangladesh was at 26 for 3, following the dismissals by Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana. Axar Patel soon joined in, dismissing Tanzid Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim with successive deliveries. Progress with Jaker was slow yet steady; it may not have been the ideal approach, but Bangladesh couldn’t afford to lose more wickets at that moment. Nevertheless, it appeared that batting had become easier as the pitch settled.
“It might have seemed easy, but that wasn’t the case since we had already lost five wickets,” Hridoy explained. “We communicated extensively with each other and ourselves. We had to battle and discover a way forward. I played many dot balls initially, but I believed I could catch up. Sadly, cramps affected my performance. If a similar situation arises in the future, I hope to perform better. I want to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
“Had we taken a couple more wickets early on, the situation could have turned out differently.”
Towhid Hridoy
“I believe my cramps limited our innings’ potential. I could have scored an additional 20-30 runs if I hadn’t cramped up.”
With only 228 runs to defend against a formidable Indian batting lineup, few expected Bangladesh to stand a chance. After a shaky bowling start—India scored 68 for 1 in the first ten overs compared to Bangladesh’s 39 for 5—they tightened their defense. Despite always playing from behind, the chase got a little challenging, with Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 101 proving decisive.
“I felt we could compete with the runs we had. We bowled and fought well. While we gave away some boundaries early on, which didn’t help our cause, we managed to recover,” Hridoy stated. “Had we taken a couple more wickets early, the outcome may have been different.”