Indian ODI vice-captain Shubman Gill made an outstanding century on Thursday, 20 February, in his Champions Trophy debut against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Gill made his eighth century in ODIs, leading India to chase a paltry target of 229 to begin their campaign on a high note with a thumping victory.
His hundred means that he has made it to another select list of Indian cricketers to have struck centuries on their first Champions Trophy outing, making him the fourth to achieve this. Others before him include Sachin Tendulkar, Shikhar Dhawan, and Mohammad Kaif, who made their hundreds in the very first appearance of the Champions Trophy.
Indians to hit a century on Champions Trophy debut:
| No. | Player | Score | Opponent | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sachin Tendulkar | 141 | Australia | 1998 |
| 2 | Mohammad Kaif | 111* | Zimbabwe | 2002 |
| 3 | Shikhar Dhawan | 114 | South Africa | 2013 |
| 4 | Shubman Gill | 101* | Bangladesh | 2025 |
Gill consolidated the Indian innings very well. He played a mature knock of 101 off 129 balls, hitting nine fours and two sixes. Gill was the backbone of the batting order. Rohit Sharma was explosive, scoring 41 off 36 balls, while Virat Kohli managed 22 off 38 balls.
Once again, Axar Patel was promoted to No.5 and failed to live up to expectations this time, managing just eight off 12 balls. KL Rahul, who came in at No.6, played a good knock of 41 from 47 balls, including a four and two sixes, with the last hit guiding India to victory.
Earlier, Bangladesh had posted a score of 228 after a good rear-guard action from Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali, who put together a 154-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Mohammed Shami took a five-wicket haul for Men in Blue.
Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. Work to be done even from the bat; for us it is alright. The wicket looks good, so we would like to put runs on the board. We need to play good cricket today, and the boys have got confidence with them. Three seamers and two spinners for us, said Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto at the toss.
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahma
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav
