India captain won millions of hearts after displaying a true sportsmanship gesture during Men in Blue's Champions Trophy 2025's campaign opener against Bangladesh on February 20 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Rohit Sharma seen tying Jaker Ali's shoelace during IND vs BAN's Champions Trophy clash
In a display of sportsmanship during Champions Trophy 2025 match against Bangladesh, captain Rohit Sharma paused to tie the shoelaces of Bangladesh batter Jaker Ali.
Bangladesh faced early trouble after winning the toss in Dubai on Thursday, February 20, collapsing to 35/5 in just 8.3 overs. While Tanzid Hasan contributed a quick 25 runs off 25 balls, including four boundaries, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, Soumya Sarkar, and Mushfiqur Rahim were all dismissed without scoring.
Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali then attempted to steady the innings with a vital sixth-wicket partnership. Despite this effort, the Indian bowlers struggled to break the partnership in the middle overs. The Bangladesh duo also benefited from several reprieves, including dropped catches by Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, and a missed stumping opportunity by KL Rahul.
In a heartwarming display of sportsmanship, Rohit Sharma paused during the 24th over of Bangladesh's innings to tie Jaker Ali's shoelaces. This act was widely appreciated by fans on social media, who lauded the Indian captain's gesture.
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India's bowlers made an early impact, reducing Bangladesh to a precarious 2/2 within the first two overs. Shami struck first, dismissing Soumya Sarkar in the opening over, while Harshit Rana followed up with the wicket of captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, who was out for a duck. Rana celebrated his success with an animated flying kiss.
Shami continued his strong performance, dismissing Mehidy Hasan Miraz for five runs in the seventh over, bringing his ODI wicket count to 199. Axar Patel then further compounded Bangladesh's woes, taking the wickets of Tanzid Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim in consecutive deliveries. Consequently, Bangladesh lost half their side within the first ten overs, handing India complete control of the powerplay.
However, Jaker Ali and Towhid Hridoy came to Bangladesh's rescue and rallied them from a precarious 35/5 to 189/5. However, Shami came back to hunt down Jaker at the score of 68 in the 43rd overs. Towhid didn't stop there and went on to score a century (100 off 118) to help Bangladesh post a total of 228.