Pakistan(National Times)- India’s Shubman Gill smashes fifty to keep his side in a strong position after building partnerships with four batters which Bangladesh managed to break to defend a modest 229-run target during the second match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 being played at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday. Bangladesh bowlers took down four batters, including skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, however, it failed to stop the advancement of the Men in Blue in the presence of Gill. India scored 161 in 35 overs at the loss of four wickets. Skipper Rohit Sharma along with Gill registered a good start for India. Sharma and Gill were keeping the scoreboard ticking despite efforts by Bangladesh bowlers to stop Men in Blue’s advancement. However, Taskin Ahmed sent off the Indian skipper during the 10th over, creating a chance for Bangladesh to bounce back. Virat Kohli joined Gill on the crease after Sharma went back to the pavilion. India scored 72 in 10 overs at the loss of one wicket. Earlier, Bangladesh posted a modest 229-run target against India with the help of Towhid Hridoy’s ton and Jaker Ali’s fifty. Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s decision to bat first appeared to have backfired as Indian bowlers ran through their top order and reduced them to 35/5 in 8.3 overs. Following the slump, Jaker joined Hridoy in the middle and the duo batted sensibly to launch recovery. Jaker and Hridoy had brought Bangladesh into the hunt and were starting to take the attack back to the Indian bowlers by hitting boundaries at regular intervals. Mohammed Shami eventually broke the threatening 151-run stand by getting rid of Jaker in the 43rd over. Jaker scored 68 off 114 deliveries with the help of four boundaries. His dismissal sparked a brief lower-order collapse, which saw Bangladesh losing two more wickets in quick succession, but Towhid stood his ground firm despite battling through the cramps and scored a valiant century. He remained the top-scorer for Bangladesh with 100 off 118 deliveries, comprised of six fours and two sixes. Shami was the standout bowler for India, registering brilliant bowling figures of 5/53 in his 10 overs, followed by Harshit Rana with three wickets, while Axar Patel bagged two.
Teams
Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.
