Shami, Gill star as India trumps Bangladesh

Shubman Gill's century and Mohammed Shami's five-wicket haul lead India to a solid victory over Bangladesh in Champions Trophy.

Shubman Gill’s previous three scores coming into the Champions Trophy read: 87, 60 and 112 (all against England). On Thursday, the 25-year-old continued his purple patch as he smashed his eighth ODI hundred (101 n.o, 129b, 9x4, 2x6) to help India kickstart its Champions Trophy campaign with a six-wicket win over Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

In pursuit of a modest target of 229, Gill showed why he is the top-ranked batter in the format as he expertly shepherded the chase and carried his bat through.

He was aggressive in the PowerPlay and then hunkered down to navigate the tricky middle phase smartly when the spinners operated, ensuring the Men in Blue got its campaign off to a winning start.

The victory, though, was in no small measure set up by the bowlers led by Mohammed Shami (10-0-53-5), who scalped his sixth five-wicket haul to restrict Bangladesh to 228.

On a pitch that was on the slower side, it was imperative to maximise the PowerPlay and openers Rohit Sharma and Gill got India off to a flyer, scoring 69 in the first 10 overs.

After starting tentatively against Mustafizur Rahman, Rohit took the left-arm pacer to the cleaners, smoking him for seven boundaries with some serene shots through the square on the off-side.

Gill was not to be left behind, pulling the fiery Tanzim Hasan for a six and then charging down to loft him over covers.