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Right then, the first set of fixtures from Group A are done and it is India and New Zealand who have the early lead in the race to the semis. It is now time to focus on Group B which features four more big names. First up, it will be Afghanistan taking on South Africa in Match number 3 at the National Stadium in Karachi. That game will be played on Friday, 21st February, and will begin at 9 am GMT. However, you can join us about an hour in advance for the build-up to that game. Cheers!

Rohit Sharma, the captain of India says that as the game goes on there are different emotions that go through, but says you got to be ready to handle any situation. Appreciates Gill and KL Rahul for batting very well. Thinks it is very hard to say about conditions being difficult, and thinks you play the conditions. Adds that as a team they did well. Also mentions that they were under pressure but that's where experience came into play. On Mohammad Shami, he says it has been a long time waiting for Shami and every time the ball is thrown at him, he has got a lot to offer. On Gill, he mentions that he is a class-apart batter and is batting brilliantly off late and showed that in this game as well. On him dropping the catch, he accepts that it was an easy one and he should have taken it, but also says that on odd days, these things happen. Credits Hridoy and Jaker Ali for forming a big partnership. On being asked about the expectations from the surface for the next game, Rohit says politely that he is not the curator but also reckons that might be similar to this game. Says a lot of games have happened in Dubai and they will look at how it works in their next fixture.

Najmul Hossain Shanto, the skipper of Bangladesh, says that the batting in the first powerplay cost them the game as they had lost five wickets there and it became tough for the lower-order batters to take on from there. He feels that they were somewhere around 30 runs short, but the way Hridoy batted is a great positive for the team. Mentions that on this kind of surface, the partnership between Tawhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali was amazing as the ball was spinning and he hopes that their batting continues to evolve in the next games. Further adds that Mahmudullah got injured so he didn’t play. Ponders that if they had picked two or three wickets early on in the powerplay in the second innings, things could have been different. Concludes that they played recently in Rawalpindi and they have an idea about the conditions over there.

Shubman Gill is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his masterful century. With a broad smile on his face, he mentions that this century was probably the most satisfying for him. Adds that when he and Rohit Sharma were batting, they decided to not cut the ball and decided to use their feet to get the ball over the circle as the ball was not easily coming onto the bat. Further tells that when Virat came to bat, they were planning to play more off the back foot. Says the first six gave him a lot of confidence and the second one helped him to get closer to his hundred. Expresses that at one point, the pressure was on them and the message was sent to him to stay till the end and finish the game.

The Presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and opted to bat first which was contrary to what Rohit Sharma would have done but in the end, it feels that Shanto's decision was the right one as the pitch kept getting slower throughout the game, it's just that Bangladesh batted horribly to begin with and India capitalized with some fine bowling. Mohammad Shami was the wrecker-in-chief as his love affair with the ICC ODI tournaments continued and he finished with a five-fer and now has 60 wickets in the aforementioned competitions. The Bangladeshi top order was yet again under scrutiny as they played some reckless shots and in the middle phase, Indian spinners did what was expected of them. However, Tawhid Hridoy came to Bangladesh's rescue along with Jaker Ali and after having got a life each, the duo fought back hard. Hridoy went on to score a maiden ODI ton but it just wasn't enough.

Just after the 30th over, Rishad picked up Axar Patel and India were 144/4 at that stage, needing one proper stand whilst Bangladesh were probably one more wicket away from creating some real panic in the Indian camp. They almost got it as well but Jaker Ali dropped Rahul and from there on, the batters didn't look back. Gill went on to notch up a stellar ton, cementing his current place as the top-ranked ODI batter in the world. Rahul also fired towards the end and got into the 40s as the duo added an unbeaten stand of 87 runs and got their side over the line.

The middle phase was always going to be crucial and with dew not expected to play a factor, India did well to get those quick runs up top which Bangladesh didn't in their innings. The pitch just continued to get slower and Rishad Hossain bowled a lovely spell in which he snared Virat Kohli just when he started to have got a hold of the pace of the pitch and Mehidy Hasan Miraz gave him good company from the other end. India's scoring rate started to come down but Gill made sure that he played the anchoring role.

Needing 229 for the win, India would have been confident coming into bat and it showed as the opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill got those early boundaries away. Rohit was the aggressor as usual as Gill played a few delightful shots of his own. They added 69 runs before Rohit fell on the brink of the first Powerplay ending. Taskin Ahmed was the one who got that breakthrough and slowly but surely, Bangladesh started to crawl back into the game.

India are up and running in the Champions Trophy! Not quite an emphatic win but just comfortable enough. As for Bangladesh, it was a spirited effort with the ball but they had already lost the game in those opening 10 overs of their innings.

SIX! KL RAHUL SCORES THE WINNING RUNS AND INDIA ARE ON BOARD IN THIS CHAMPIONS TROPHY 2025. Sakib bowls it short and angles it towards the leg stump. KL Rahul is quick to read the length and transfers the weight on the back foot. Swivels and pulls it with no intention to keep it down. Hoists it over deep square leg for a huge six. Not the easiest of the chases for India as Bangladesh made them work really hard to get these runs.

Too full and on middle and leg, Shubman Gill clips it a bit aerially towards deep mid-wicket for a single.

Pitched outside off on a length, KL Rahul rises with the bounce and slaps it through covers for a single.

On middle and on a length, worked across to mid-wicket.

Cannons in a yorker on the stumps, Shubman Gill jams his bat down in time and keeps it out.

Overpitched on off, Gill shovels it out on the pitch.

Length, outside off, punched through cover for one.