Despite a quick opening stand of 69 runs between Rohit and Gill, the 229 target put India to the test.
In order to lead India through a challenging chase of 229 that must have reminded them of their 2-0 series loss to Sri Lanka in August on similarly sluggish surfaces, Shubman Gill went to great lengths for his slowest ODI century and India’s slowest in the previous six years. Despite a quick opening partnership of 69 runs, Mohammed Shami, who claimed his sixth ODI five-for and became the fastest player to reach 200 ODI wickets in terms of balls bowled, kept India to a target of 229 in the main.
In their Champions Trophy start, both teams will lament lost chances. Towhid Hridoy’s outstanding battling century and three dropped catches were necessary to keep Bangladesh in the game after they won a critical toss on a tired surface without any dew, which should have made chasing easier. Axar Patel was on a hat-trick, Rohit Sharma dropped a sitter, and India had Bangladesh down at 35 for 5. The record-breaking sixth-wicket partnership then added two more life. It made it possible for Bangladesh to reach a score that prevented India from gaining a net-run-rate advantage, which might be vital if they lose one of their three games.
India will continue to take this into account. A banana peel that misjudged the circumstances and wished to field first if they had won the toss managed to live. Due to some careless hitting, they were given early wickets on a sluggish pitch with no help for the quicks. Bangladesh may have believed that the new ball was the ideal moment to bat because they continued to lose wickets without waiting for a bad ball to be offered. Ambitious strokes to simple, good-length bowling with little seam caused the first three to fall.
Axar was brought on in the ninth over with Bangladesh at 35 for 3. The lone batter who had appeared at ease, Tanzid Hasan, played him for the turn and ultimately lost due to an outside edge. Mushfiqur Rahim played the original line and was dismissed by the lone player who turned, probably batting too late at No. 6—especially without the injured Mahmudullah. Jaker Ali responded to Axar slowing down the hat-trick ball with an edge, which Rohit spilled.
Hridoy was soon dropped by Hardik Pandya on 23 in the opening over by Kuldeep Yadav. On the slow surface, scoring runs was still difficult. Not only did almost ten overs go without a boundary, but India also went through the middle overs without taking a wicket for the first time since the 2023 World Cup final. Jaker gave him a chance on number 24, but KL Rahul failed to stump on Ravindra Jadeja delivery.
As the innings went on, the two found their rhythm, but Hridoy’s cramps hindered him. With a short leg-side boundary, Shami resumed the difficult chore of bowling, but he also took three more wickets by using the slower ball wide outside off to deny them boundaries. Hridoy’s battle against debilitating cramps and a cameo from Rishad Hossain propelled Bangladesh to a competitive total.
As India quickly overtook the three Bangladesh quicks, Rohit maintained his usual high-intent beginnings, and Gill matched him shot by shot. In an attempt to make one final advantage of the field limits, Rohit fell for 41 off 36 just before the field was ready to spread. Scoring became a chore right away. Virat Kohli, the great accumulator, once again fell to a leg spinner with the letters jumbled from Rashid to Rishad after struggling to move the ball into spaces.
After Mustafizur Rahman gave him a couple and a boundary, Shreyas Iyer overreached and sent a slower ball to mid-off, and he was sent off for 15 off 17. After being promoted to both break right-hand hitters’ sequences and monitor the net run-rate, Axar failed to read the Rishad topspinner and skied a slog-sweep.
In 20.2 overs, the final three wickets had been taken for 75 runs. Although you would have assumed that KL Rahul’s presence would have calmed things down, he attempted an unusual hoick early on and was dropped by Jaker, who had already been reprieved earlier in the day. Despite the fact that India defeated the ghosts of the unsuccessful chases in Sri Lanka last year, that turned out to be Bangladesh’s final chance.
The guy to credit was Gill, who ensured his presence at the finish of the chase and anchored it. As the situation changed, he tightened his game and only took calculated chances, but when Rohit was out, he was 26 off 23. It wasn’t until the slick fast bowler Tanzim Hasan returned in the 32nd over that he hit his next boundary. He had reached his slowest half-century by then.
Gill was happy to take singles from Mustafizur, who bowls a vicious slower ball to take advantage of these conditions, as well as from the spinners. After Rohit was dismissed, he only managed 30 runs off of 52 balls before settling into middle gear and completing it in style. He smashed a six and a four off Tanzim to reach the milestone off 125 balls and take his traditional bow after needing 12 of the 19 runs to reach a hundred. With 21 balls remaining, Rahul hit Tanzim for a six to send India home.
