Champions Trophy 2025: India vs Bangladesh, Match 2 - Who Said What?

India emerged as the dominant victors of their Champions Trophy 2025 opener by claiming victory against Bangladesh with six wickets and 21 deliveries to spare at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, in Dubai. 

The Indians were completely on top of the opposition in the first powerplay, reducing Bangladesh to 39/5. A 154-run stand for the sixth wicket by Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali provided a vital reprieve by steadying the ship. However, excellent bowling from Mohammed Shami, first with the new ball and then at the death, restricted Bangladesh to 228 in 49.4 overs. Shami ended up securing a five-wicket haul. 

Coming to the run-chase, India started off quite briskly. Shubman Gill carried on after Rohit Sharma's dismissal. Although Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Axar Patel were dismissed within a short span of time, KL Rahul joined hands with Gill to lead the team to victory. Gill ended up amassing a ton, while Rahul scored an unbeaten 41*. 

Talking Points from Match 2 of Champions Trophy 2025:

1. Mohammed Shami smashes milestones with five-for

Shami's sixth five-wicket haul in ODIs was accompanied by the premier pacer surpassing a host of records. He became the fastest bowler to the 200-wicket milestone in ODIs (in terms of innings). In the process, he also surpassed Zaheer Khan's tally of 59 wickets in ICC tournaments.  

2. Indian openers duo provide another dynamic start

The second innings started off with a bang with Rohit and Gill setting the pace for the run-chase. Although Rohit departed in the final over of the powerplay, the two had already set the tone for the remainder of the innings, much like they have in the 50-over format in the recent past.    

3. Shubhman Gill extends purple patch 

Coming off a blistering ODI series against England, Gill continued his fine nick with a mature ton to track down the target along with the other batters. The 129-ball knock comprised nine fours and two sixes.  

Who Said What?

Losing skipper, Najmul Hossain Shanto

Losing five wickets in the powerplay cost us the game. I think so. Hridoy and Jaker batted brilliantly but we still made mistakes on the field. Dropped catches and a few run-outs missed, the result could have been different. Impressive batting from Hridoy and Jaker against their spinners. I hope they will continue doing the same. I don't think so (if he thought the team needed an extra spinner in the XI). If we got wickets with the new ball, it could have been different. We have played Pakistan there recently and I am sure the boys will adapt to conditions in Rawalpindi.

Winning skipper, Rohit Sharma

Before you come and play, you have got to be confident. As the game goes on, there are different emotions that come through. But there is a lot of experience in that dressing room. Gill and KL played really well. Very hard to say that (on pitch playing slow) after just one game. You play the conditions and try and think about what you do. We assessed the conditions well as a team. You are bound to be under pressure in a tournament like Champions Trophy. Very happy for him (Shami), long time waiting. We know what he brings to us. We need guys like him to stand up when we need. Gill, we know the class that he has, Shouldn't surprise anyone. It was good to see him bat till the end. May take him (Axar) for dinner tomorrow (smiles). No, that was an easy catch, I should have taken that catch with the standards I have set for myself. But I do know these things are bound to happen. Credit to Hridoy and Jaker, they stitched a nice partnership. (Asked if he expects the pitch to play similar in the next game as well) Not sure, but it will be pretty much similar I guess. I am not the curator here to tell you how exactly it will play but looks like it with the way the games have been played here.

Player of the Match, Shubman Gill

Definitely one of my most satisfying innings that I have played and my first century in ICC events. Very satisfying and very happy with the way I performed. When me and Rohit bhai went out there, we thought cutting the ball wasn't easy because the balls which were outside the off-stump weren't coming onto the bat that nicely. So I thought of using my feet to even the fast bowlers and tried to go over the circle. When the spinners came on, me and Virat bhai were talking in the middle that it's not easy to score singles off the front foot, so we'll try to score singles off the back foot. And it's not easy to hit down the ground, so we just keep rotating the strike. At one point, there was a bit of pressure on us. The message was sent from outside that I have to try to bat till the end and that's what I tried to do. (On his two sixes) The first one gave me a lot of confidence and the second one helped me come closer to my hundred, so both were very satisfying.