India defeated Bangladesh by 6 wickets in a hard-fought match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Bangladesh skipper Najmol Hossain Shanto won the toss and elected to bat first at the venue, but his side failed to get going in their Champions Trophy opener as Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana and Axar Patel starred for India.
Here’s a look at the top 5 highlights of the match: from Mohammed Shami taking his 200th wicket to captain Rohit Sharma becoming the second fastest player to 11,000 ODI runs.
Top 5 highlights of yesterday’s match:
1) Mohammed Shami’s fifer:
Mohammed Shami roared back to form on Thursday, providing the Men in Blue with an early breakthrough in the form of Soumya Sarkar and Mehidy Hasan Miraz. The veteran bowler later broke the 154-run partnership for the 7th wicket and claimed his 200th ODI scalp by dismissing a well-settled Jaker Ali for 68.
Shami took two more wickets of Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Taskin Ahmed to claim his first fifer since making his comeback to ODI cricket after more than a year out due to injury.
2) Axar Patel misses a hat-trick:
Indian spinner Axar Patel missed out on a hat-trick in the Champions Trophy match between India and Bangladesh after skipper Rohit Sharma dropped a regulation catch in the 9th over. The left-arm bowler had taken the wickets of Anzid Hasan Tamim and Mushfiqur Rahim in the second and third deliveries of the over with Bangladesh on 35/5 when Rohit dropped the catch off Jaker Ali.
Had Rohit Sharma taken the catch, Axar Patel would have become only the second bowler in the tournament’s history to do so, after West Indies’ Jerome Taylor in 2006. More importantly, the Indian captain didn’t just rob his bowler of a historic opportunity, he also gave Bangladesh a chance to come back into the game as Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali put on a 150-run partnership to help Bangladesh put an over 200 run total.
3) Rohit Sharma becomes second fastest batter to 11,000 ODI runs:
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill once again put on a strong opening partnership that immediately put Bangladesh under pressure as they chased down a total of 229 runs. The openers put on 69 runs for the first wicket inside the first 10 overs and ensured that run-rate was never an issue for the rest of the innings.
During his 41-run stay at the crease, Rohit also reached a major milestone as he became the second fastest batsman to 11,000 ODI runs, behind Virat Kohli’s record. It took the veteran player 261 innings and 11,868 balls to reach the milestone, behind Kohli’s 222 innings and 11,831 balls.
4) Shubman Gill’s first century in ICC events:
After the dismissal of Rohit Sharma in the 10th over, India were in a bit of a pickle as runs became hard to come by as the spinners came into the attack. The Men in Blue also kept losing wickets, first of Virat Kohli (22), then Shreyas Iyer (15) and later Axar Patel (8).
Shubman Gill, however, held one end of the run chase and refused to let Bangladesh ever fully get back into the game. Gill was eventually not out on 101 after scoring his 8th ODI century and first ever in an ICC event.
5) KL Rahul’s stabilizing hand:
After a bit of a meltdown in the middle overs, KL Rahul proved why he was selected ahead of Rishabh Pant. The veteran batsman handled the spinners with ease, turning the strike comfortably at the start and later playing the big shots to achieve the 229-run total quickly. Rahul scored a 47-ball 41-run knock and narrowly missed out on a half-century in the match.
