Pakistan lost the Champions Trophy opening match, while India, their bitter rivals, won the match after a fierce battle. This time around, the India-Bangladesh match was more competitive than the lopsided semi-final of the 2017 Champions Trophy. However, India defeated Bangladesh by 6 wickets to begin their campaign. India also secured a win in Group A, alongside New Zealand. Towhid Hridoy’s outstanding century was overshadowed by Shubman Gill’s eighth ODI century. Hridoy tried, but Bangladesh was unable to change the situation to their advantage.
India got off to a strong start with a 69-run opening partnership in 59 balls as they chased a total of 229. After scoring forty-one runs, Rohit Sharma was dismissed by Taskin Ahmed. After hitting 22 runs, Virat Kohli was caught at point off Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s bowling, just as he and Gill appeared to be leading India to a resounding victory. Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer both left, but Gill had an outstanding innings, finishing undefeated at 101 as India won the match with 21 balls remaining. KL Rahul added an undefeated 41 as well.
If Zakir Hasan hadn’t missed a simple catch off Taskin’s bowling when India was at 166 for 5, Bangladesh might have won the match. But the 87-run stand between Gill and Rahul cemented India’s victory, leaving Bangladesh with no chance of recovery. Nazmul Hossain Shanto, the captain of Bangladesh, astonished everyone by choosing to bat first after winning the toss at the Dubai International Stadium. Mahmudullah missed the game because of a slight ailment, and pacer Nahid Rana was left out of the starting lineup.
Bangladesh had a terrible start to their innings. Mohammed Shami’s outstanding swing bowling had Soumya Sarkar caught behind for a duck in the opening over. Najmul Shanto left the game without scoring when Kohli caught him off Harshal Patel’s delivery in the following over. Bangladesh reeled at 35 for 5 after Miraz, Tanzid Hasan, and Mushfiqur Rahim went in rapid succession as the early hits continued. Axar Patel almost achieved a hat-trick with two wickets in his opening over, but Rohit missed the chance when he dropped Zakir Hasan.
Subsequently, Zakir and Towhid Hridoy formed an unprecedented partnership of 154 runs for the sixth wicket. Hridoy recorded his first ODI century, and Zakir hit a half-century in his first Champions Trophy encounter.
Hridoy was bowled out for precisely 100, and Zakir was removed for 68 by Shami. The lower order did not contribute much, with the exception of Rishad Hossain’s quickfire 18. With two balls left, Bangladesh were bowled out for 228.
Mohammed Shami, who claimed five wickets for 53 runs, was the standout player with the ball. He tied Saqlain Mushtaq’s record with 200 ODI wickets in his 104th game. Mitchell Starc is still the fastest player to reach 200 wickets, having done so in 102 games. Although the match’s highlights included Gill-Hridoy’s hundreds and Shami’s five-wicket haul, India won. India will play Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday, and Bangladesh will play New Zealand in Rawalpindi the next day.
Bangladesh 228 (Hridoy 100, Jaker 68, Shami 5-53) lost to India 231 for 4 (Gill 101*, Rahul 41*, Rishad 2-38) by 6 wickets.
