India chased down Bangladesh’s target of 229, winning by six wickets in the Champions Trophy opener. Shubman Gill scored his slowest ODI century, anchoring the innings with 101 not out. Bangladesh struggled early but a resilient hundred from Towhid Hridoy (100) helped them post 228, with Mohammed Shami taking five wickets. India lost key wickets and faced a challenging chase on a sluggish pitch but Gill’s patient innings and KL Rahul’s support (41*) secured the victory with 21 balls remaining. Both teams had missed chances, impacting the match’s dynamics and net run rate for future matches.
India 231 for 4 (Gill 101*, Rahul 41*, Rishad 2-38) defeated Bangladesh 228 (Hridoy 100, Jaker 68, Shami 5-53) by six wickets
India will view this as a close call, having overestimated the conditions and opted to field first after winning the toss. On a slow pitch offering little help for fast bowlers, they capitalized on early wickets due to reckless batting from Bangladesh. Bangladesh seemed to believe the new ball was the perfect opportunity to bat, failing to wait for loose deliveries and quickly losing wickets. The first three batsmen fell to ambitious shots against basic good-length bowling lacking seam movement.
Bangladesh was at 35 for 3 when Axar entered the attack in the ninth over. Tanzid Hasan, the only batter who appeared settled, misjudged the turn and edged to the slips. Mushfiqur Rahim batted late at No. 6, particularly with Mahmudullah missing due to injury, falling to a delivery that turned unexpectedly. Axar bowled a slower hat-trick ball, which Jaker Ali edged, only for Rohit to drop.
Hardik Pandya soon dropped Hridoy on 23 during Kuldeep Yadav’s opening over. Runs were hard to come by on the sluggish wicket, with over 10 overs passing without a boundary, marking the first time India went through middle overs without a wicket since the 2023 World Cup final. Jaker offered another opportunity on 24, but KL Rahul missed a stumping chance off Ravindra Jadeja.
As the innings progressed, the duo found their rhythm, albeit Hridoy struggled with cramps. Shami returned to bowl against an inviting short leg-side boundary and utilized slower balls outside off to restrict boundaries while taking three more wickets. A brief cameo from Rishad Hossain and Hridoy’s determined fight despite severe cramps pushed Bangladesh to a competitive total.
Rohit continued his aggressive batting approach, while Gill matched him shot for shot as India surged against the Bangladesh bowlers. Just before the fielders spread out, Rohit fell for 41 off 36 in an attempt to capitalize on fielding restrictions. From that point on, scoring became difficult. Even Virat Kohli, known for his singles, struggled to place the ball into gaps before succumbing to a legspin delivery that spun past him to Rishad.
Shreyas Iyer adapted to the conditions temporarily, but after hitting a couple of runs and a boundary off Mustafizur Rahman, he overreached and hit a slower delivery to mid-off, departing for 15 off 17. Axar, promoted to break the sequence of right-hand batters and address net run rate concerns, skied a slog-sweep, misreading Rishad’s topspinner.
The last three wickets fell for 75 runs across 20.2 overs. One might expect KL Rahul’s entrance to stabilize the innings, but he attempted an uncharacteristic swing early on, only to be dropped by Jaker, whom he had previously reprieved. That turned out to be Bangladesh’s last chance as India successfully exorcised the demons of their previous failed chases in Sri Lanka last year.
Gill, who anchored the chase, deserves the credit for ensuring he was at the finish line. He was at 26 off 23 when Rohit was dismissed, but as conditions evolved, he refined his approach and took only selective risks. His next boundary came in the 32nd over, off the fast bowler Tanzim Hasan, after he had reached his slowest fifty.
He contented himself with runs from singles against spinners and against Mustafizur, who adeptly employed his deceiving slower balls in this context. After Rohit’s exit, Gill scored just 30 runs off 52 deliveries before gearing up for the finish, culminating in an impressive conclusion. He needed 12 runs from 19 to secure his hundred, hitting a six and a four off Tanzim to reach the milestone in 125 balls and take a well-deserved bow. Rahul guided India to victory with a six off Tanzim, finishing with 21 balls remaining.
Sidharth Monga is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo