Two points for India, what-ifs for Bangladesh
So India go +0.408 on net run rate with this win, which could have been way way bigger had they held on to their catches. We leave you with a teaser from our final report and the promise to see you same place, same time for South Africa vs Afghanistan tomorrow.
Shubman Gill dug deep for his slowest ODI hundred and India’s slowest in the last six years to see India through a tricky chase of 229 that must have brought back memories of their 3-0 series defeat to Sri Lanka last on similarly slow tracks. Despite a quick 69-run opening stand, India were tested by a target that was kept by Mohammed Shami, who took his sixth ODI five-for and became the quickest man to 200 ODI wickets in terms of balls bowled to get there.
Both sides will rue missed opportunities in their Champions Trophy opener. Bangladesh won a crucial toss on a tired pitch with no dew expected to make chasing easier, but they got off to such a poor start that they needed three dropped catches and a superlative fighting hundred from Tawhid Hridoy to stay in the contest. India had Bangladesh down at 35 for 5, Axar Patel was on a hat-trick, and Rohit Sharma dropped a sitter followed by two lives for the record-breaking sixth-wicket stand. It allowed Bangladesh to get to a target that denied India a net-run-rate boost, which can prove crucial if they happen to lose one of their three matches.
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Gill gets the hundred, India the win
Shubman Gill picks his bowler, the pacy and skiddy Tanzim Hasan to take the six and the four to take him close to the hundred and gets there calmly with a single.
He has done most of his scoring off Tanzim and Taskin, and has given respect to Rishad, Miraz and Mustafizur, whose style is suited to this pitch. India get home with 21 balls to spare.
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Will Gill get a hundred?
India have overcome the jitters and need only 19 off the last six overs but there is a byplay here. If Shubman Gill can score 12 of these, he can get to a consecutive hundred and his eighth. If he does get there, it will be his slowest ODI hundred.
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Jaker drops Rahul
Jaker Ali enjoyed two lives when he batted during the day. One of those was a missed stumping by KL Rahul, who has played an uncharacteristic hoick on 9 off 19 for a simple catch to deep forward square leg where Jaker has made a meal of it. To rub salt into the wounds, Gill gets a glanced boundary later on the over. India need 57 in 13 overs.
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Into the final phase we go
At the last drinks break of the match, India are 161 for 4 with the calming presence of Shubman Gill and KL Rahul at the wicket. They need 68 off 15 overs wi9th six wickets in hand. They will want another 30 or so calm runs from this stand before they make a net-run-rate push.
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Rishad gets Axar
It is not getting any easier for India with the batters looking to keep hitting boundaries. Axar Patel, promoted to 5, seems to have played a pinch-hitter's innings. In his first over at the wicket, he tried to slog-sweep Rishad Hossain and found an inside edge. Then he got a boundary off Tanzim Hasan but against slog-swept Rishad, only to top-edge a topspinner for a skier. Perhaps Axar was under instruction to get quick runs keeping net run rate in mind?
Now, though, you won't see that much of it. KL Rahul is the new batter in. India 144 for 4 in 30.1 overs.
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Bangladesh keep scrapping
Shreyas Iyer survived the early mix-up, weathered some good bowling, kept his instincts in check, then found some flow with a brace and a boundary off Mustafizur Rahman, but then triedm to repeat the boundary off what turned out to be a vicious slower offcutter from Mustafizur. He is gone for 15 ff 17. India 133 for 3 in 27.4 overs. Axar Patel gets a promotion.
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Fifty for Gill
It is on Shubman Gill to make sure India don't let Bangladesh back into the game. He has put his head down since the first wicket. He has scored just 24 off his last 48 balls. This is his slowest half-century in ODIs.
It is not easy to score at will on this pitch once the field is spread out. That underlines the importance of that quick start for India and the poor start for Bangladesh.
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Kohli falls to legspin again
It is the name jumbled up. Adil Rashid last series. Rishad Hossain now. Never really look at home. The third-longest he has taken to get6 off the mark. And eventually out on the cut thanks to some grip in the surface. Caught at point. Gone for 22 off 38.
India 112 forf 2. And then Shreyas Iyer is missed on a run-out on duck. India need to be careful here. They got off to quick starts to their chases in Sri Lanka but were stunned on turning tracks last year.
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Signs of a slowing pitch
Bangladesh will be ruing that poor start all the more now that they can see they can control the scoring once the ball is old and the field is spread. There is appreciable turn available too. Nor does there seem to be any dew. Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli have added just 22 in 7.1 overs. India 91 for 1 in 17.
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Rohit falls but India well on their way
A typical quick start from Rohit Sharma has come to an end as he charges Taskin Ahmed in the final over of the powerplay. All he manages is a skier to cover-point, and he is gone for 41 off 36.
India 69 for 1 in 9.5 overs with Shubman Gill matching his captain shot for shot. He is unbeaten on 26 off 23.
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Rohit scales Mount 11K
261 Number of innings it has taken Rohit Sharma to get to 11,000 runs. Only Virat Kohli has been quicker. He is the fourth Indian and the 10th overall to reach 11,000 ODI runs.
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India start chase
Two overs in, there has been a glorious pulled boundary by Shubman Gill but also nice movement off the pitch for Mustafizur Rahman to repeatedly go past Rohit Sharma's bat. India 6 for 0 in two overs.
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Bangladesh bowled out for 228
Bangladesh lost their wickets in two sets of fives. The first five for 35, the last five for 39. In between, Tawhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali added 154 for the sixth wicket, cashing in on three lives given to them by India's fielders. Hridoy ended up with a fighting maiden century, but Mohammed Shami shone bright with a sixth ODI five-for.
This is a slow pitch, but you would back India to chase this.
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Five for Shami
6 Number of ODI five-fors for Mohammed Shami in just 104 matches. That's twice the next-best for India. Only seven bowlers in the world have taken more five-wicket hauls than Shami
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Maiden hundred for Hridoy
For the last half an hour or so, Tawhid Hridoy had been struggling badly with cramps, barely able to move, but he has held the innings together and now brought up a maiden ODI hundred off 114 balls. He has dragged Bangladesh to 228 for 8 in the 49th over.
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Rishad hurts India more
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That's the 45h over of the innings, the most expensive. Rishad Hossain went after Axar Patel and peppered the short leg-side boundary. Bangladesh 212 for 6.
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Most catches for India
156 This was also Virat Kohli's 156th ODI catch, the joint-highest for India along with Mohammad Azharuddin
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Fastest to 200
5126 Number of balls it has taken Mohammed Shami to get to 200 ODI wickets, the quickest ever, ahead of the 5240 it took Mitchell Starc, who is the quickest to the mark in terms of matches played. Starc got there is his 102nd ODI, Shami in his 104th, the second-quickest along with Saqlain Mushtaq.
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Finally a wicket
India finally hold on to one as Jaker Ali toe-ends a slog off a wide slower offbreak for long-on to take the catch. Jaker is gone for 68 off 114. Bangladesh 189 for 6 in 42.4 overs. This partnership of 154 is the highest sixth-wicket stand against India by any team.
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Best sixth-wicket stand
140 Runs added by Jaker Ali and Tawhid Hridy, now the highest sixth-wicket stand in all of Champions Trophy. Bangladesh now 176 for 5 in 41 overs.
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Fifties for Jaker Ali and Hridoy
It has taken him 87 balls and two lives, but Jaker Ali has made his way to a half-century that has helped Bangladesh stay alive in this match.
With him has been Tawhid Hridoy, who brings up the landmark with a thick edge off Ravindra Jadeja to get to 53 off 85 balls. From 35 for 5, they have taken Bangladesh to 142 for 5 in 37 overs.
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Boundary drought ends
63 Number of balls it has taken Bangladesh to hit a boundary after Kuldeep Yadav offered a free hit in the 20th over. It is a lovely on-drive by Jaker Ali off Harshit Rana to move to 39 off 73. Bangladesh 111 for 5 in 30 overs.
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Unsafe Rohit
10 Number of catches, out of 22, that Rohit Sharma has dropped in ODIs since 2023. For fielders who have had at least 20 chances in this period, Rohit has the worst catching efficiency. Funnily, Glenn Phillips is the fourth-worst with seven drops out of 23.
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Jaker, Hridoy add 50
Tawhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali have avoided a complete blowout by adding 50 for the sixth wicket, but they have been given a helping hand by India in the field. Jaker was dropped first ball by Rohit Sharma, then Hridoy wad reprieved by Hardik Pandya in Kuldeep Yadav's first over. He would have been out for 23 had Padya taken the sitter at mid-off.
Then, on 24, Jaker survived a stumping off Ravindra Jadeja as KL Rahul failed to collect the ball. Bangladesh 86 for 5 in 23 overs.
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Axar scars Bangladesh but he is denied the hat-trick
First sighter of India's talked-out spin trio, and it has taken two balls to remove the impressive-looking Tanzid Hasan. The cardinal sin of playing Axar for the turn, and the ball goes straight on to take the edge for KL Rahul to collect.
Axar Patel doesn't even know the edge has been taken, but the umpire Paul Reiffel is so certain he gives the batter a chance to walk off. When Tanzid doesn't, Reiffel sends him on his way.
In comes Mushfiqur Rahim, surely too low at No. 6, and he does the right thing: play the line. Axar, though, gets this one to turn and takes the outside edge to now be on a hat-trick.
Two slips, a leg slip, a short midwicket. Jaker Ali is the batter. Axar is slow again, gets some turn, takes the edge, but Rohit Sharma drops a sitter at first slip. He is so filthy with himself he keeps slapping the ground. Bangladesh 36 for 5 in nine overs.
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Miraz goes too
Tanzid Hasan has hit three excellent boundaries, but apart from him Bangladesh batters have all looked all at sea against some steady bowling. No swing, very little seam, but Bangladesh have just played high-risk cricket for little rewards.
At the start of the seventh over, even the promoted Mehidy Hasan Miraz cuts hard at a ball that is not short enough, and Shubman Gill pouches an excellent overhead catch at first slip. Bangladesh 26 for 3 in seven overs.
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Rana gets captain Shanto
Najmul Hossain Shanto didn't select Nahid Rana for this game, and the other Rana, India's Harshit, has dismissed him for a duck. A big drive on the up well away from the body, caught at short square cover. No loose ball from India, and Bangladesh have gone out looking to manufacture shots only to their dismay.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz gets a promotion to No. 4, and walks out in fluorescent green boots. India welcome him with a leg slip and some chn music. Bangladesh 2 for 2 in 2 overs.
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Seam-up Shami strikes sixth ball
That upright release from Mohammed Shami is on display, eking out any seam movement that might be available with the new ball. Soumya Sarkar defends four balls before trying an extravagant drive on the up. The ball seams in, takes the inside edge, and KL Rahul takes a simple catch.
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Bangladesh choose to bat, Shami and Kuldeep back for India
Going against most assessments, India wanted to field in Dubai, expecting batting to get easier under lights. They got their wish as Najmul Hossain Shanto has won the toss and decided to bat first. Even though a fresh pitch, it is on the drier side. They are not expecting any dew, and are expecting the itch to slow down later.
Bangladesh have gone in with three quicks with Rishad Hossain and Mehidy Hasan Miraz to take up spin-bowling duties. No Nahid Rana there, though. No Mahmudullah either. Shanto wasn't asked if Mahmudullah is injured because it doesn't make sense to drop him. Surely?
India have gone back to what they believe is full strength. To the XI from the last ODI, they have made three changes. Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja are back in for Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy and Washington Sundar.
Bangladesh: 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt.), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Jaker Ali, 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Tanzim Hasan, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
India 1 Rohit Sharma (capt.), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Harshit Rana, 11 Mohammed Shami
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A bat-first pitch?
Nasser Hussain and Mel Jones at the pitch report reckon that while this is a fresh pitch, it is one that could slow down and tire down in the second innings. Also there has been no dew in Dubai this year, according to the groundsmen. So this might be a bat-first pitch.
The ground dimensions: a long hit down the ground at 82m straight. One square boundary is bigger than the other by 74m to 62m so ends and match-ups will come into play. Toss not too far.
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The Dubai leg kicks off
It's about noon in Dubai, and we are ready for India vs Bangladesh in Dubai. It is a pleasant 24 degrees for now, and the day is partly cloudy. In an hour, India and Bangladesh will kick off their campaigns. India are the form team and the favourites to win this thing, but Bangladesh can never be written off. Especially looking forward to their seamers.
Since it as a 1pm start, I wonder if the dew will make an appearance in this game. Usually it becomes a factor after 8pm or so by which time we will be in the deciding stages of this match if not entirely done with it. Welcome to our Live Report for all the fun.
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