At the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, in Dubai, India defeated Bangladesh with six wickets and 21 deliveries remaining to emerge as the resounding winners of their Champions Trophy 2025 opener.
In the first powerplay, the Indians completely outplayed the opposition, bringing Bangladesh down to 39/5. Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali’s 154-run partnership for the sixth wicket steadied the ship and offered a much-needed reprieve. But Mohammed Shami’s superb bowling, first with the new ball and again at the end, held Bangladesh to 228 in 49.4 overs. In the end, Shami took five wickets.
India got off to a fast start in the run-chase. Following Rohit Sharma’s termination, Shubman Gill continued. Gill and KL Rahul worked together to lead the side to win despite the quick dismissals of Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, and Virat Kohli. Rahul scored an undefeated 41*, while Gill ended up accumulating a ton.
Key Takeaways from Champions Trophy 2025 Match 2:
Mohammed Shami breaks records with a five-for
In addition to breaking other records, Shami claimed his sixth five-wicket haul in ODIs. In terms of innings, he became the bowler who reached the 200-wicket mark in ODIs the quickest. He also beat Zaheer Khan’s record of 59 wickets in ICC competitions at this time.
2. A pair of Indian openers offer yet another exciting start.
With Rohit and Gill establishing the pace for the run-chase, the second innings got off to a spectacular start. Similar to their recent success in the 50-over format, the two had already established the tone for the rest of the innings when Rohit left in the last over of the powerplay.
3. The purple patch is extended by Shubhman Gill.
Following a scorching ODI series against England, Gill and the other batters pursued the aim with a mature ton, continuing his good nick. There were two sixes and nine fours in the 129-ball knock.
Who Said What?
Losing skipper, Najmul Hossain Shanto
Losing five wickets in the powerplay cost us the game. I think so. Hridoy and Jaker batted brilliantly but we still made mistakes on the field. Dropped catches and a few run-outs missed, the result could have been different. Impressive batting from Hridoy and Jaker against their spinners. I hope they will continue doing the same. I don’t think so (if he thought the team needed an extra spinner in the XI). If we got wickets with the new ball, it could have been different. We have played Pakistan there recently and I am sure the boys will adapt to conditions in Rawalpindi.
Winning skipper, Rohit Sharma
Before you come and play, you have got to be confident. As the game goes on, there are different emotions that come through. But there is a lot of experience in that dressing room. Gill and KL played really well. Very hard to say that (on pitch playing slow) after just one game. You play the conditions and try and think about what you do. We assessed the conditions well as a team. You are bound to be under pressure in a tournament like Champions Trophy.
Very happy for him (Shami), long time waiting. We know what he brings to us. We need guys like him to stand up when we need. Gill, we know the class that he has, Shouldn’t surprise anyone. It was good to see him bat till the end. May take him (Axar) for dinner tomorrow (smiles). No, that was an easy catch, I should have taken that catch with the standards I have set for myself.
But I do know these things are bound to happen. Credit to Hridoy and Jaker, they stitched a nice partnership. (Asked if he expects the pitch to play similar in the next game as well) Not sure, but it will be pretty much similar I guess. I am not the curator here to tell you how exactly it will play but looks like it with the way the games have been played here.
Player of the Match, Shubman Gill
Definitely one of my most satisfying innings that I have played and my first century in ICC events. Very satisfying and very happy with the way I performed. When me and Rohit bhai went out there, we thought cutting the ball wasn’t easy because the balls which were outside the off-stump weren’t coming onto the bat that nicely. So I thought of using my feet to even the fast bowlers and tried to go over the circle.
When the spinners came on, me and Virat bhai were talking in the middle that it’s not easy to score singles off the front foot, so we’ll try to score singles off the back foot. And it’s not easy to hit down the ground, so we just keep rotating the strike. At one point, there was a bit of pressure on us. The message was sent from outside that I have to try to bat till the end and that’s what I tried to do. (On his two sixes) The first one gave me a lot of confidence and the second one helped me come closer to my hundred, so both were very satisfying.
India
