Dubai (TIP)- India began their Champions Trophy campaign with a six-wicket victory against Bangladesh after opener Shubman Gill anchored their nervy chase with a classy hundred in the Group A contest on Thursday, February 20.
A victory target of 229 looked inadequate to test India’s vaunted batting but Rohit Sharma’s men faltered in their chase and owed their tense victory, even if it came with 21 balls to spare, largely to Gill’s unbeaten 101. Gill’s ton trumped Towhid Hridoy’s heroic 100 while battling cramps that helped Bangladesh, who were 35/5 at one stage, reach 228 before being all out with two deliveries left in their innings.
Seamer Mohammed Shami claimed 5/53, signalling he was ready to lead India’s pace attack in the absence of the injured Jasprit Bumrah.
“We have been in that kind of situation many a time,” India captain Rohit Sharma said of their chase. “There’s a lot of experience in that dressing room to handle that… KL (Rahul) and Gill at the end were quite composed.”
Najmul Hossain Shanto was left to regret his decision to bat as Bangladesh lost the top half of their batting half inside nine overs.
While India’s new ball pair of Shami and Harshit Rana (3/31) struck in their first overs, spinner Axar Patel nearly claimed a hat-trick.
During the chase, Rohit (41) and Gill got India off to a flying start adding 69 runs for the opening stand.
Rohit could not initially middle the ball but boundaries soon started to flow from his bat as he crossed 11,000 runs in ODIs. Taskin Ahmed removed Rohit in the 10th over and suddenly the boundary flow stopped. Virat Kohli (22) could not convert the start while Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel fell cheaply as Bangladesh fought back with their spinners.
Brief scores: Bangladesh: 228 all out in 48.4 overs (Hridoy 100, Jaker 68; Shami 5/53, Harshit 3/31); India: 231/4 in 46.3 overs (Gill 101*, Rohit 41, Rahul 41*; Hossain 2/38).
Shami makes dream return
Till a few weeks back, Mohammed Shami was not sure of making the Indian team for the Champions Trophy. In fact, there was a period last year when the veteran pacer was not even sure if he would ever return to the field again. But Shami, who recently made a comeback from a long injury layoff, proved his worth by picking up five wickets in India’s victory against Bangladesh in their opening game of the tournament.
The 34-year-old speedster, who is leading India’s bowling department in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, made an unforgettable comeback by claiming his sixth five-wicket haul in ODI cricket. It was his first ever five-wicket haul in an ICC tournament.
Shami also became the eighth Indian to complete 200 wickets in ODI cricket. On Thursday, he grabbed three wickets to reach the milestone in his 104th match. He became the fastest Indian to the milestone, breaking the record of former India pacer Ajit Agarkar (133 matches). He then added two more wickets to his tally to end the day with figures of 5/53.
Shami, who averages less than 24 and has 10 four-wicket hauls, also extended his record of most five-wicket hauls for India in the format. The next best is three five-wicket hauls by Javagal Srinath and Harbhajan Singh.
The road back to the top, though, was filled with hurdles — the latest being his 14-month exile from cricket. After finishing the 2023 World Cup as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, Shami required surgery for an ankle injury. After a long layoff, his comeback was delayed by issues with his knees during rehabilitation. Shami finally returned to competitive cricket, turning up for the Bengal team in the domestic season. He finally re-joined India’s white-ball squad for the home series against England.
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