2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by India in their 2025 Champions Trophy match vs Bangladesh ft. Harshit Rana's usage
Team India's dominant run in the ODI format continued as they got their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign off to a winning start on Thursday, February 20. Rohit Sharma and Co. beat Bangladesh by six wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Match 2 of the tournament.
It was a fairly routine win from India, who were supported by contributions from Mohammed Shami and Shubman Gill. While the fast bowler registered another ODI five-fer, the opening batter notched up an assured unbeaten century in the chase. The Men in Blue got over the line with 21 balls to spare.
At the same time, however, it wasn't a perfect display from Rohit and company. On that note, here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by India in their Champions Trophy clash against Bangladesh.
#3 Mistake - Harshit Rana wasn't used enough in the middle overs
India curiously went in with Harshit Rana ahead of Arshdeep Singh as their second fast bowler against Bangladesh. The young Kolkata Knight Riders pacer was impressive in the middle overs in the recent ODI assignment against England, and that was perhaps the reason behind the team management choosing him.
However, strangely, Rana wasn't given the ball in that phase. He returned to bowl just two overs when Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali were forging a partnership, with Rohit trusting his spinners instead. Even Shami was brought back, but not Rana, whose skills are suited to that role.
Rana finished with three wickets, but Bangladesh's big partnership could've been curtailed if the pacer had been introduced once the duo started to attack.
#2 Masterstroke - Axar Patel was brought on towards the end of the powerplay ahead of Ravindra Jadeja
After Shami and Rana had picked out three Bangladesh wickets inside the first seven overs, India were always in the ascendancy. Instead of continuing with pace in the form of the aforementioned duo, as well as Hardik Pandya, Rohit tossed the ball to Axar Patel in the ninth over.
This was despite the fact that Ravindra Jadeja was the most impressive spinner in the England series. Perhaps wanting to use Axar's inward angle and height, the Indian skipper turned to the spinner, and the move yielded rich rewards.
Axar collected wickets off successive deliveries and was unlucky not to get a hat-trick, with Rohit shelling an easy chance at slip. That reduced Bangladesh to five down inside the powerplay, and despite the mammoth partnership that followed, the Tigers were down and out.
#1 Mistake - India's batters were dismissed by attacking shots on a tricky deck
India got over the line with six wickets to spare, but it wasn't always a straightforward chase. That was largely of their own doing, with all four dismissed batters playing risky attacking shots on a sluggish deck in Dubai.
Rohit, who struggled for control throughout his stay at the crease, was dismissed in the forties once again while slogging the ball. Shreyas Iyer and Axar, who came in at No. 4 and No. 5 respectively, were caught off skiers while trying to loft the ball over the infield.
Virat Kohli labored to 22 runs before giving himself room and trying to cut one, only to find backward point. Even KL Rahul, who remained unbeaten, was dropped at deep midwicket while trying to hit Taskin Ahmed over the boundary.
On another night, if Bangladesh had a few more spin resources at their disposal, India's lack of smart judgment could've cost them. It became a slightly tricky chase when Axar was dismissed, and the dismissed batters should've taken a leaf out of the book of Shubman Gill, who played grounded shots for the most part and rotated the strike well.