Sports Desk
21 February
Ludhiana
Sandeep Dhand
India started their ICC Champions Trophy campaign with a convincing six-wicket win over Bangladesh in their Group A match. Shubman Gill’s unbeaten century (101*) and Mohammed Shami’s brilliant five-wicket haul powered India to victory.
Chasing a target of 229 runs, India reached 231/4 in 46.3 overs. Gill played a steady knock, scoring 101 off 129 balls with nine fours and two sixes. Wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 41 runs. Captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli contributed 41 and 22 runs, respectively, while Shreyas Iyer (15) and Axar Patel (8) added crucial runs. For Bangladesh, Rishad Hossain took two wickets, while Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman picked up one each.
Earlier, Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bat but struggled initially, losing five wickets for just 35 runs. However, Towhid Hridoy (100) and Zakir Ali (68) revived the innings with a 154-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Bangladesh was eventually bowled out for 228 in 49.4 overs.
Shami was the standout bowler for India, taking 5/53 in 10 overs. Axar Patel picked up 2/43, while Harshit Rana claimed three wickets. India will now face Pakistan in their next match on Sunday.