ICC CHAMPION TROPHY 2025 : Gill's century stuns Bangladesh, Sami takes 5, India wins by 6 wickets
India started their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign with an easy win. Team India defeated Bangladesh by 6 wickets with 21 balls to spare in their Group A match on Thursday. This has definitely boosted their confidence before the match against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday. Shubman Gill's second consecutive century and Mohammed Shami's five wickets played an important role in this victory. However, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer missed the opportunity to score big runs.
However, this victory did not come in a thunderous manner. Nazmul Hossain could not be dismissed even after a few overs. The gradually slowing pitch was the villain. As it became difficult to take big shots, Nayak Gill focused on scoring runs by cutting off his vision. That is where the greatness of this innings lies. A few days ago, he also scored a century against England in Motera. The Indian vice-captain's century of the day came off 125 balls. Which is the slowest by any Indian since the 2019 World Cup. But it is invaluable in terms of condition. The 25-year-old once again explained why he is number one in the ICC ODI rankings. Gill's unbeaten 101 off 129 balls was studded with 9 fours and 2 sixes. Chasing a target of 229, the start was stormy. They reached 69 in ten overs. Rohit looked back at his old self after overcoming the initial inertia. However, he returned before fifty. Kohli was not playing badly. But once again he fell victim to the legspinner. Shreyas and Akshar also gave up wickets while picking them up. Lokesh Rahul, who was out for six, showed his responsibility. However, he also got an easy catch. Team India was under some pressure after Kohli, Shreyas and Akshar returned from 112 to 144, 32 runs behind. From there, Gill and Rahul's unbroken 87-run partnership for the fifth wicket took the Men in Blue to the victory station.
India, however, did not have to chase down two hundred-plus runs. Bangladesh had fallen five wickets for 35 runs after winning the toss and opting to bat. Axar Patel had raised the possibility of a hat-trick by removing Tanjid Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim with two consecutive balls. A hat-trick could have been achieved. Zaker Ali had taken an easy jab at slip. Rohit somehow managed to throw away a catch that even a schoolboy cricketer would have taken ten times. Even after jumping up for a hat-trick, disappointment accompanied Akshar. After expressing his anger by slapping the grass, Rohit folded his hands and apologized to the bowler. But that was just consolation. Just as Akshar's missed hat-trick did not come back, Bangladesh's innings also got oxygen.
It seemed difficult for the Padmapar team to even cross the 100-run mark. But Towhid Hridoy added 154 for the sixth wicket with Zaker. However, the Indian fielding also extended a helping hand. Hardik Pandya, who was standing at mid-off, was caught by Kuldeep Yadav. He was 23 at the time. Keeper Lokesh Rahul also missed an easy stumping. The Indian fielders also gifted several runs in this phase. Towhid did not make a mistake in utilizing the opportunity. He took the team beyond 200 in a fighting innings. The 24-year-old also completed his first ODI century. Towhid's 100 runs from 118 balls included six boundaries and two sixes. Zaker (68) was with him. However, Sami returned to India in the second spell after returning him. He also took two wickets in the first spell. Two more wickets came in the death over. Five wickets for 53 runs, Sammy showed his old spirit. Most importantly, he did not let Jasprit Bumrah's absence be felt. The decision to keep Arshdeep Singh in the dressing room and play Harshit Rana was also a successful one. The young Turk took three wickets for 31 runs. Kuldeep-Jadeja did not get wickets though.