Bangladesh got off to a shaky start to the Champions Trophy 2025 as they suffered a six-wicket defeat against India in their campaign opener at the Dubai International stadium on February 20. Bangladesh, despite their batting collapse, rode on Towhid Hridoy's century to post a modest total of 228 runs. In reply, Shubman Gill's hundred ensured India win the match by six wickets with 21 balls to spare.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto rued team's defeat and said the result could have been different had they not committed couple of mistakes on the field.
Najmul Hossain Shanto rues Bangladesh's loss against India
Bangladesh missed two big chances to get rid of India's top scorers Shubman Gill and KL Rahul. While Shubman Gill cracked a unbeaten yet splendid 101, which was decorated with 9 fours and two sixes, Rahul chipped in with 41 off 47. Jaker dropped KL Rahul's catch and Shanto missed a chance to run out KL Rahul. Bangladesh skipper also feels the way his team batted in the powerplay cost them the match. Bangladesh were reeling at 35/5. But Towhid Hridoy (100) and Jaker Ali (68) came to bail them out from the precarious position and rallied them to 228.
"I think the first powerplay, the way we batted, the game cost us at that point. Very hard for the lower order to recover. The way Hridoy and Jaker batted was brilliant. We made a couple of mistakes on the field, a couple of dropped catches, a run out. If we had taken those chances, the result could have been different. On this kind of wicket, with the spinners bowling, the ball spinning, Hridoy and Jaker batted brilliantly. I don't think we were a spin bowler short. Mahmudullah got injured. We didn't bowl badly, our quicks. If we had taken an early wicket, the result could have been different," Shanto said in the post-match presentation.
India's chase of 229, set by Bangladesh after a strong 154-run partnership between Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali, began well with a solid 69-run opening stand. However, their progress was disrupted by a cluster of quick wickets, leaving them struggling at 144/4. Shubman Gill and KL Rahul then steadied the innings, ultimately guiding their team to victory.
India's openers once again gave Men in Blue a start they wanted, putting together a 50-run partnership. However, Taskin Ahmed broke the 69-run opening stand by dismissing Rohit Sharma (43). Virat Kohli (22) also made a promising start but couldn't convert it into a substantial score, struggling against the Bangladesh spinners before being dismissed by Rashid for 22 runs off 38 balls.
Gill continued his consistent run-scoring, reaching his fourth consecutive fifty-plus score in ODIs in 69 balls. India then suffered further setbacks, losing Shreyas Iyer (15 runs off 17 balls) and Axar Patel (8 runs off 12 balls) in quick succession. With the innings in a precarious position, Gill and KL Rahul took control, calmly continuing the chase. Gill reached his eighth ODI century off 125 balls, an innings punctuated by nine fours and two sixes. KL Rahul then sealed the victory with a six, as India finished at 231/4. Gill remained unbeaten on 101* runs off 129 balls, while KL Rahul was not out on 41* runs off 47 balls.
Bangladesh will next face Pakistan on February 24 and then play their last-league match against Pakistan on February 27.
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