India thrash Bangladesh to get off to a flying start in ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Mohammed Shami’s 5-wicket haul and Shubman Gill’s century proved to be the standout performances for Team India, as the Men in Blue got off to a winning start in their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign.

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Shanto won the toss and chose to bat, but the move didn’t pay rich dividends as they were reduced to 2/2 inside the first two overs.

A strong start from India’s pace duo of Shami and Harshit Rana was followed up by two wickets in a row from Axar Patel, who would have had a hat-trick, only to be denied by Rohit Sharma dropping a regulation catch in the slips.

Bangladesh were soon staring down the barrel at 35/5 in the 9th over, but an inspired partnership between centurion Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali helped them out of troubled waters.

Although scoring boundaries proved to be a tough ask, the pair kept the scoreboard ticking with strike rotation, and eventually, Shami brought India the breakthrough by removing Jaker for 68.

Rishad Hossain came out and swung for the hills, his 12-ball 18 helping Bangladesh past the 200-run mark. A cramping Hridoy made his way to a well-deserved century in the 49th over but couldn’t add to the score and was the last man to be dismissed, as Bangladesh were skittled out for 228 in 49.4 overs.

India’s openers were quick to get off the blocks, Rohit Sharma in particular, as the captain took a special liking to Mustafizur Rahman’s left-arm angle after a tentative start against him.

Rohit (36-ball 41) first belted two boundaries to get past the 11,000 runs mark in ODIs, and across two more overs from Mustafizur, the right-hander collected five fours to pile the pressure on Bangladesh.

However, the Indian skipper soon holed out off Taskin Ahmed’s bowling, bringing Virat Kohli to the crease. Gill and Kohli (22) were watchful in tough batting conditions, but soon, the latter was dismissed by Rishad Hossain’s leg spin and he was followed by Shreyas Iyer (15) and Axar Patel (8), who couldn’t contribute much with the bat.

An incoming KL Rahul joined forces with Gill as the duo ensured India didn’t encounter any other obstacles, putting together an 87-run partnership. Rahul proved to be a benefactor of a dropped chance when India needed 63 runs to win, but that was the only chance Bangladesh were offered, with the Men in Blue cruising to victory at the end.

Gill got to his hundred with a dab to deep cover point, bringing out his trademark celebration and continuing his dream run in the ODI format, where he’s scored two fifties and two hundreds in his last four ODIs.

Rahul finished the game with a six over backward square leg, and the shot brought with it a dominating 6-wicket win for India with 21 balls to spare. Gill won the Player of the Match award for his century.