India started their journey to win another ICC title by beating Bangladesh strongly in Dubai on Thursday. This match was the second in Group A, and now the tournament moves to Group B today (February 21).
Veteran bowler Mohammed Shami impressed everyone by taking 5 wickets for 53 runs. Then, India’s vice-captain Shubman Gill scored an unbeaten 101, leading the team to a six-wicket victory while chasing Bangladesh’s total of 228 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
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Man-of-the-Match Gill said, “This is one of the most satisfying innings I have played, and it is my first century in an ICC event. I am very happy with my performance.”
In the game, India used three spinners and chose Harshit Rana over Arshdeep Singh as the second fast bowler. Harshit Rana justified the decision by taking 3 wickets for 31 runs. Axar Patel led the spin attack along with Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, taking 2 wickets for 43 runs. Axar was unlucky to miss a hat-trick when captain Rohit Sharma dropped an easy catch in the slips.
After the match, Rohit joked, “I may take him (Axar) for dinner tomorrow (smiles).” He added, “That was an easy catch; I should have caught it as per my own high standards.”
Even with this win, India remains in second place in Group A, behind New Zealand, who top the table on net run-rate after beating Pakistan by 60 runs in their first match.
The two games saw four century scores in total. For New Zealand, Will Young and Tom Latham scored centuries, while on Thursday, both Gill and Bangladesh’s Towhid Hridoy reached the hundred-run mark.
India’s win has paused the two-day matches in Group A. Now, Afghanistan and South Africa will start Group B at the National Stadium in Karachi on Friday.
