India's Shubman Gill celebrates after scoring a century during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between India and Bangladesh at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,. (AP)
Shubman Gill celebrates after scoring century against Bangladesh. (ICC Media Zone)
Nearly 36 overs separated the two shots. On a night when stroke-making wasn’t easy, Shubman Gill hit two contenders for the shot of the tournament. And at the receiving end both times was Tanzim Hasan. The first was a pick-up shot that sounded so good off the bat that it almost echoed around the stadium, and landed in the top tier for a 98m six. Standing at the other end in admiration was Rohit Sharma, one of the foremost exponents of the shot. Then late on, with the finish line in sight, he flicked one almost effortlessly for another six. “The first one gave me confidence and the second one took me closer to my first ICC event century, so both were very satisfying,” the centurion said later.
Indian pacer Mohammed Shami (left) with captain Rohit Sharma (ICC Media Zone)
It was the first time Mohammed Shami was playing in the Champions Trophy, and he continued his love story with ICC events. His statistics make for ridiculous reading. In his 19th such match, he became India’s leading wicket-taker in ICC ODI events with a five-for that took his tally to a mind-boggling 60 wickets. His average (13.28) and strike rate (15.5) are by some distance the best for bowlers who have taken at least 20 wickets in the marquee events of this format. In comparison, Glenn McGrath – who leads the wicket-taking charts in this category – had an average of 18.52 and a strike rate of 27.9. Shami is in truly elite territory.
Bangladesh spinner Rishad Hossain celebrates a wicket against India. (ICC Media Zone)
Rishad Hossain’s place in the Bangladesh playing XI was crucial for Bangladesh. In a largely right-hand heavy top order, his leg spin was critical to take the ball away, especially with no dew predicted later in the night. And Virat Kohli’s recent struggles against leg spin was also part of that. Historically, Bangladesh’s spin attack has been dominated by right-arm and left-arm finger tweakers, so he has brought in a new dimension. And by dismissing Kohli and India’s one change-up leftie option in Axar Patel, Rishad delivered his part admirably.
Bangladesh batter Jaker Ali after scoring century against India in the Champions Trophy. (ICC Media Zone)
The last time Rohit Sharma slammed the field at an ICC event, it was in celebration of a World Cup win. But on Thursday afternoon, it was frustration and remorse writ all over his face as he dropped Jaker Ali off the first ball, which prevented an Axar Patel hat-trick. Ali went on to stitch a superb partnership with Towhid Hridoy that brought Bangladesh back. But Ali returned the gift to India later in the night. KL Rahul, batting on 9 off 18 balls, played a rash shot that was heading straight to him at deep midwicket and the catch was put down. The camera immediately panned to Rohit in the Indian dressing room and he had a wry smile on his face. India could have been put under some serious pressure in the closing stages had that been taken but it wasn’t to be. ReplyReply allForwardAdd reaction
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