In India’s Champions Trophy 2025 opener against Bangladesh, nine of the ten wickets fell by caught dismissals, with KL Rahul taking three catches and Virat Kohli two. Rahul was awarded ‘Fielder of the Match’, despite pacer Mohammed Shami’s humorous claim about his own impressive catch. Early game highlights included Rahul’s catches contributing to Axar Patel’s near hat-trick, ultimately thwarted by a dropped catch from Rohit Sharma, who expressed frustration afterward. Bangladesh’s partnership of 154 runs between Jaker Ali and Towhid Hridoy helped them reach 228 runs, but India, led by Shubman Gill’s century, achieved the target comfortably.
During India’s opening match in the Champions Trophy 2025, they secured nine out of ten Bangladesh wickets through caught-out dismissals. Wicket-keeper KL Rahul was notably active, making three catches, while veteran Virat Kohli also stood out in the field with two catches. Both Rahul and Kohli were nominated for the ‘Fielder of the Match’ award given by Indian fielding coach T Dilip, but pacer Mohammed Shami expressed his dissatisfaction that his catch, which dismissed Bangladesh centurion Towhid Hridoy, did not earn a nomination. Shami humorously addressed this in a video shared by BCCI after the game.
“Take a look at our fielding coach; he seems very busy. I have a feeling I know who’s going to win. My catch was pretty good too, you know,” Shami quipped.
Ultimately, the award went to KL Rahul, who secured three catches during the match, all within the opening ten overs.
“I think he has been exceptionally consistent behind the stumps; it’s never an easy task, especially with the new ball, diving to the left. Not just in this game, he’s consistently excelled at catching during crucial moments – KL Rahul,” T Dilip remarked while presenting the award.
The first catch was taken off Shami’s first over, with Bangladesh opener Soumya Sarkar edging one behind.
Then, Rahul managed to make two sharp catches off consecutive deliveries, putting Axar Patel on the brink of a hattrick.
However, it was the hattrick ball that made headlines. Axar’s chance for a first career hattrick was denied when Rohit Sharma dropped an easy catch in the slip cordon.
This incident led to an irritated reaction from the Indian skipper, who appeared extremely frustrated with himself. Rohit struck the ground in anger several times before raising his hand to apologize to Axar.
Rohit dropped Bangladesh batter Jaker Ali at a time when they were struggling at 35/5. Jaker, who would later be dropped by Hardik Pandya, managed to score a half-century (68).
Jaker formed a remarkable 154-run partnership with Towhid Hridoy, occupying the crease for nearly 40 overs. This partnership became the highest for Bangladesh against India in ODI history, aiding them in achieving a more respectable total.
Nevertheless, Bangladesh’s score of 228 fell short, as India dominated the run chase from the outset. With a fiery 41 from Rohit Sharma complemented by a brilliant century from Shubman Gill, India comfortably chased down the target with 3.3 overs remaining.
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