Vice-captain Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 101* led India to a six-wicket victory over Bangladesh in their opening Champions Trophy match in Dubai on Thursday.
Chasing the score of 229 runs, India reached the target with 21 balls to spare. Gill, who scored his second consecutive ODI century, remained steady under pressure.
“There’s a lot of experience in the dressing room to handle such situations,” said India’s captain Rohit Sharma. “KL (Rahul) and Gill stayed composed till the end.”
Fast bowler Mohammed Shami also played a key role in India’s win, taking 5-53 to leave Bangladesh struggling at 35-5. However, Bangladesh’s Towhid Hridoy (100) and Jaker Ali (68) stitched a 154-run stand to push the total to 228 runs.
India started well with Rohit Sharma (41) and Gill finding regular boundaries. Rohit, who crossed 11,000 ODI runs, fell to Taskin Ahmed, while Virat Kohli (22) was dismissed after a slow start.
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With India at 144-4, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul (41*) took charge, ensuring a comfortable finish with an 87-run partnership. Rahul was dropped early, but India faced no further hurdles.
Shami, stepping in for the injured Jasprit Bumrah, gave India an early breakthrough by dismissing Soumya Sarkar for a duck. Axar Patel removed Tanzid Hasan (25) and Mushfiqur Rahim (0) in successive deliveries.
Bangladesh got some respite as Jaker and Towhid steadied the innings, and fielding lapses from India allowed them to build a partnership.
Towhid’s 118-ball knock, which included six fours and two sixes, ended before Bangladesh was bowled out.
India will face Pakistan in their next match on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium.
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