Bangladesh set for India’s spin-test in Dubai
Oman
United States Of America
Match starts in 1 hr 31 mins
VIDAR
MUM
Day 4 – Session 2: Vidarbha lead by 392 runs.
KER
GUJ
Day 4 – Session 2: Gujarat trail by 100 runs.
NSW
VIC
NSW won by 76 runs
The venue last hosted a 50-over match in March 2024 while India and Bangladesh last played an ODI there in 2018
Who makes it to India’s pace attack against Bangladesh?
Big picture: Those boring middle overs
It can feel like the middle phase of an ODI don’t matter all that much. Mahela Jayawardene came in to bat at exactly this point in the final of an ODI World Cup and made a hundred. But that is not that match, or even he, is remembered for. Often enough, the overs between 11 and 40 are like the unwanted filling in a sandwich that would’ve otherwise been delicious, because there is always anticipation at the start of every innings and intrigue to see how it comes to a close.
India – especially this 15-member squad – are in Dubai to challenge this notion. In their most recent ODI series, they showed that their batters could score quick runs without inviting undue risk and their bowlers showed that they could provoke a mistake, over and over and over again. It wasn’t just a dry run for how they hope to win this Champions Trophy. It was a dry run for how to win without their best player. Jasprit Bumrah, whose skills render him capable of shaping every phase of the game, seem to actually come at a price and his body is currently paying it.
What can India expect from Dubai’s Champions Trophy pitches?
How Varun became India’s Champions Trophy wildcard
In the Gambhir era, it’s all about middle-overs mastery for India
Rana is at the bleeding edge of Bangladesh’s seam-bowling tradition
Bangladesh are, potentially, better placed to cope with a trial by spin than England were. Most of their batters are coming out of a high-scoring BPL season, which may be a sign that the players’ concerns about pitches at home being too spin-friendly and not doing enough to prepare them for flatter conditions abroad have been taken on board. Potentially following on from that, it’s allowed the development of other kinds of bowlers, leading to a more rounded attack that is no longer reliant on people taking pace off the ball.
The only hitch is that Bangladesh played their last ODI in December 2024, which was part of a series they lost 3-0 to West Indies, a team that didn’t make the cut-off for this Champions Trophy. And, the last time they faced India, they gave up 285 runs in 34.4 overs in a Test match and 297 runs in way less than that in a T20I.
Recent form
India: WWWLL(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh: LLLLW
In the spotlight: Shreyas Iyer and Nahid Rana
As he hooked Mark Wood in the air and watched the ball sail into the crowd, Shreyas Iyer took a moment to punch the air with both fists. He wasn’t celebrating a personal landmark or his team’s victory. In some ways, the moment was a little more precious than that. Early on in his career, Iyer was marked as a player who was uncomfortable against the short ball at high pace. That one was coming for his head at 145 kph and he hit it well enough to get six runs. He will see it as vindication. Others will see it as growth which works in his favour too.
It was in Pakistan that Nahid Rana truly showcased just what he was capable of and while he won’t be kicking off his Champions Trophy on those shores, he will still take heart from the kind of chaos he was able to inspire off of two lifeless Rawalpindi pitches just three months ago. The trip to India that followed wasn’t great for him, but now he has another chance and the payoff this time is even bigger. Bangladesh have never had the kind of firepower he brings to the pitch and they will be eager to make full use of it.
Team news: Plenty of pace for Bangladesh
There was some concern around Rishabh Pant after he was hit in the knee at training, but he doesn’t make India’s strongest ODI XI with KL Rahul the preferred wicketkeeper batter. Mohammed Shami has worked his way back up to fitness, although his pace seems a bit off from its usual peaks. Arshdeep Singh will likely take the second seamer’s spot ahead of Harshit Rana.
India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Arshdeep Singh
A few familiar faces are not part of this Bangladesh squad, notably Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das. But other old pros like Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah remain crucial to the cause. Tanzid Hasan at the top of the order has good recent form to carry him, having finished the second-highest scorer at the BPL.
Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Nahid Rana, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
Pitch and conditions: Something in it for the bowlers
Dubai, which will host all of India’s matches in the Champions Trophy, is not a regular venue for ODI cricket between top-tier teams. Even otherwise, the last 50-over game here took place in March 2024, between Scotland and Canada. There have only been four totals of 300 or more in 58 matches held there. The weather is set fair and both teams are expecting a pitch on the slightly drier side of the spectrum.
Stats and trivia: Mehidy and Kuldeep bring huge value
Since his debut in June 2017, Kuldeep Yadav has been the most potent bowler in the middle overs of ODI cricket with139 wickets at an average of 27.8 and an economy rate of 4.88
In 12 ODIs since the end of the last ODI World Cup, Bangladesh have maintained a scoring rate of 4.93 through the middle overs, the lowest among the teams competing in the Champions Trophy.
Since March 2022, among 56 batters to score 1000 runs or more, Shubman Gill has the highest average – 63.4.
Bangladesh are without Shakib at a major tournament for the first time since 2004. Mehidy Hasan Miraz will have to shoulder that burden and he’s done so before, most famously when he rescued his team from 69 for 6 to win the series against India in 2022
Both India and Bangladesh last played an ODI in Dubai in 2018
Quotes
“He doesn’t bowl too many variations to us in the nets. He bowls just one type of delivery. Maybe, he doesn’t want to show his variations to us, even. But that is a good thing. He has got certain weapons which he wants to just put out there when it actually matters. I am more than happy if he wants to do that.”
Rohit Sharma on Varun Chakravarthy
“I think we always struggle with our seam attack, but last couple of years we have got some quality fast bowlers. We have some fast bowlers, but now we have got Nahid Rana, Taskin the way they are bowling. I think it helps a lot. As a captain, we love to see bowling fast and bowl for the team.”
Najmul Hossain Shanto is happy with Bangladesh’s fast bowling attack at his disposal
Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
Shami opens up about his struggles and recovery after injuries and a surgery sidelined him from international cricket for over a year
India are favourites but brush Bangladesh aside at your own peril
Rohit’s biggest contribution has come in helping seed the idea within India’s batting consciousness that your wicket is worth less to the team than it is to you
The venue last hosted a 50-over match in March 2024 while India and Bangladesh last played an ODI there in 2018
India captain says their three allrounders gives them a lot of options
Big picture: Those boring middle overs
Recent form
In the spotlight: Shreyas Iyer and Nahid Rana
Team news: Plenty of pace for Bangladesh
Pitch and conditions: Something in it for the bowlers
Stats and trivia: Mehidy and Kuldeep bring huge value
Quotes
Shami on long rehab: ‘Felt like a toddler learning how to walk’
Live Blog – India, Bangladesh begin their campaigns
Is Rohit Sharma India’s best contemporary ODI batter at ICC tournaments?
Bangladesh set for India’s spin-test in Dubai
Rohit Sharma says India are ready for any conditions
Shanto: We have a good fast-bowling unit
Rohit: Gill has been superb in the last three-four years
Kumble: India’s only option without Bumrah is to attack with spin
ICC Champions Trophy
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1.200 |
| PAK | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1.200 |
| BAN | – | – | – | – | – |
| IND | – | – | – | – | – |
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFG | – | – | – | – | – |
| AUS | – | – | – | – | – |
| ENG | – | – | – | – | – |
| SA | – | – | – | – | – |
Bangladesh vs India, 2nd Match, Group A at Dubai, Champions Trophy, Feb 20 2025 – Ball by Ball Commentary
Oman
United States Of America
Match starts in 1 hr 31 mins
VIDAR
MUM
Day 4 – Session 2: Vidarbha lead by 392 runs.
KER
GUJ
Day 4 – Session 2: Gujarat trail by 100 runs.
NSW
VIC
NSW won by 76 runs
Pitch report: The boundary down the ground is 82m. Looong hit. Behind the wicket though is only 57m and 61m. So a slight bias, one square boundary slightly shorter than the other. Fresh pitch, even though a whole ILT20 tournament had taken place here. Both teams expected it to be dry on match eve. The groundsman said they’ve had no dew in this year so far. Scores aren’t going to be so big, so batting first might have its advantage back.
Riyad: “Given BD’s lack of all-rounders (apart form Miraz), could there be a scenario where they are are forced to play Soumya even if he doesn’t score big?”
rajith: “its not a pitch where you can go all guns blazing from the word go, even a target around 260 will be a tougher one chasing i feel “
Sifat Khawry : “India have indeed built a squad where multiple players can step up as match-winners, making them a formidable force in any format. The ability to have quality backups for almost every position ensures that even the absence of a key player like Bumrah doesn’t significantly weaken the team. This depth not only provides tactical flexibility but also sustains their dominance in world cricket.”
Prasanna S: “India would be keen to erase their forgettable T20 WC memories of 2021 in UAE. A Golden opportunity for them to make amends. More than the spinners doing their job, I believe the temperament of batsmen would be tested in these conditions. They just can’t go over their shots and need to grind it out in the middle. Play all the 50 overs.”
Plenty to choose from in the build-up to this big clash. Sidharth Monga is on our Live report and live ball-by-ball commentary of this game is available in Hindi too.
12.00pm Andrew Fidel Fernando had a little think about Rohit’s place in the pantheon of India’s batters and how they’ve gone in ICC tournaments. He also kinda sorta has a crush on Nahid Rana.
Cricfan: “@Ayush – on the contrary, it is very unfair for IND to always fend off these “unfair advantages to Ind” claims. These are not because of IND cricket team but due to broadcasting (business) as well as politics. Wherever it is held, typically IND does well in ICC tournaments 🙂 but the discussions keeps centered around these topics. “
Mustafa Moudi: “Fun Fact: Rohit Sharma is just 12 Runs away from Completing 11,000 ODI Runs. If reaches there today, he would be the 2nd Fastest to Reach the Milestone in terms of No. of innings, after his Teammate Kohli, who reached there in merely 222 Innings. Also, all the Top 3 Fastest to the Feat would be Indians – Virat Kohli (222), Rohit Sharma (260*) and Sachin Tendulkar (276) !!”
Ayush: “Nobody wants to talk about it, but it’s not fair that India is playing their matches in a different country altogether with different conditions than those in Pakistan. And this is coming from a lifelong Indian fan. Praying that one day the two countries will put aside the geopolitical tension for the 5 match India-Pakistan test series that the world wants to watch.”
Pranali: “I don’t expect you to publish this but 7 decades of trying to improve relationships through cricket did not make the political views go away and if anything only made it worse”
Ahsan: “On paper clearly india is stronger but what if BAN can win, will make PAK VS INDIA match more interesting, fight for survival” Their captain Najmul Hossain Shanto put things very clearly when he said they were “at the Champions Trophy to become champions.” He seems to have a good head on his shoulders and seems to be the kind of leader who makes his players want to give that little bit more. He’s got an excellent allrounder in Mehidy Hasan Miraz and the old pros Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah are still around. And all this without even coming to their much improved fast bowling and they have a World Cup winning coach taking care of their every need, along with a highly respected local coach helping facilitate connections.
Shakil Ahmad: “Among all eight participating teams, India is looking most formidable balanced and dangerous team despite no Bumrah. India has specialist players for all departments. Although all players are match winner but Hardik, Jadeja, Kuldeep and Gill will be main asset for India in this tournament. Threatening Australia is not in full strength due to unavailability of some key players. So I am not seeing any hurdle in team India.s win of this Trophy.”
Chris Silva: “Why is ICC subservient to BCCI? Any other country who refuses to play at the intended venue will forefit the right to points. Why is the ICC allowing India to do as they wish?”
11.30am The president was there. The air force put on a show. There were long winding crowds and smiles on faces that may well have wondered if they would ever see a global cricket tournament back on their shores again. This Champions Trophy means just a little more than many that has gone by, especially to Pakistan. But there’s a second version of it taking place side by side. Welcome to that Champions Trophy.
Dubai is a grand place and for the next two weeks or so it will be India’s home away from home. Maybe one day the conflict will end and they’ll feel just as comfortable in Lahore or Karachi. But for now their stars will adorn the ground under a ring of fire as they face off against Bangladesh in a clash that could be plenty spicy. My name is Alagappan Muthu. Matt Roller will be joining us soon. He’ll try to make it fun. I’ll actively put you to sleep. Okay, just passively.
Peeyush: “Although as cricket fans we would love to see Ind playing in Pak, but that does not take away the fact that the kind of threat other teams have in Pak is far lesser or none in comparison to what Ind team may have if they are in Pak. There is no point risking player’s safety over a game when the situations are so hostile between two countries.”
Shami opens up about his struggles and recovery after injuries and a surgery sidelined him from international cricket for over a year
India are favourites but brush Bangladesh aside at your own peril
Rohit’s biggest contribution has come in helping seed the idea within India’s batting consciousness that your wicket is worth less to the team than it is to you
The venue last hosted a 50-over match in March 2024 while India and Bangladesh last played an ODI there in 2018
India captain says their three allrounders gives them a lot of options
What are Rohit and Kohli’s roles in this Indian unit?
Shanto: We have a good fast-bowling unit
Kumble: India’s only option without Bumrah is to attack with spin
Shami on long rehab: ‘Felt like a toddler learning how to walk’
Live Blog – India, Bangladesh begin their campaigns
Is Rohit Sharma India’s best contemporary ODI batter at ICC tournaments?
Bangladesh set for India’s spin-test in Dubai
Rohit Sharma says India are ready for any conditions
Shanto: We have a good fast-bowling unit
Rohit: Gill has been superb in the last three-four years
Kumble: India’s only option without Bumrah is to attack with spin
ICC Champions Trophy
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1.200 |
| PAK | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1.200 |
| BAN | – | – | – | – | – |
| IND | – | – | – | – | – |
| Team | M | W | L | PT | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFG | – | – | – | – | – |
| AUS | – | – | – | – | – |
| ENG | – | – | – | – | – |
| SA | – | – | – | – | – |
‘I’ve made my decision. You’re not playing’: Gambhir to drop Indian superstar from Champions Trophy clash vs Bangladesh
Washington Sundar is set to play in India’s Champions Trophy 2025 opener against Bangladesh in Dubai on Thursday as India are likely to drop either Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel. As per visuals aired on Star Sports on the eve of the match, it appears that the axe will fall on Jadeja. India head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen having an animated chat with Jadeja, which Star Sports experts Abhinav Mukund, Piyush Chawla and Mike Hesson felt had a lot to do with Gambhir informing Jadeja that he was not going to be a part of India’s XI against Bangladesh. At the same time, India captain Rohit Sharma talked to Axar Patel.
India have gone in with two specialist spinners and three spin-bowling all-rounders in the Champions Trophy. Jadeja and Axar, cricketers with identical skill sets, played in the first two matches against England in the bilateral series, but India is unlikely to go in with the same combination against Bangladesh, a side which has a lot of left-handers in their top seven. In fact, Bangladesh’s top three – openers Tanzid Hasan and Soumya Sarkar and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto are left-handers.
“There are a lot of left-handers in the Bangladesh playing XI. But these two cricketers have done really well for India. But I think in the first game, they should have gone in with Jadeja and Axar because Kuldeep can take the ball away from the left-handers,” said former India leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.
Former New Zealand and Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Mike Hesson analysed Gambhir’s body language further and said he was telling Jadeja that he has made up his mind of picking Washington Sundar ahead of him in the XI.
“He’s (Jadeja) not playing,” said Hesson when asked to share his thoughts on visuals of Gambhir talking to Jadeja, where the visual ended with the coach tapping on the all-rounder’s shoulders. “You can tell from the body language that he’s being told he’s not playing. (Gambhir is saying), ‘That’s my decision. I’ve made it. You may not agree with it but thank you very much. You may go on to play the next one but for the first match, we’re playing the off-spinner,” Hesson added.
Jadeja, already retired from T20Is, has been an integral part of the Indian ODI set-up for the last 12 years. Axar Patel, for the longest period, has been his under-study. Axar, in fact, missed out on a spot in India’s ODI World Cup squad as the management took a last-minute decision to add Ravichandran Ashwin to the squad. But Axar has shown a lot of improvement in all three departments of the game and has risen as India’s premier left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder in white-ball cricket.
If it boils to a choice between Axar and Jadeja and then the former is likely to be preferred over the veteran, which appears to be the case in the Champions Trophy opener.
Sundar, meanwhile, is Gambhir’s choice. Like Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy, Gambhir is believed to be heavily in favour of the Tamil Nadu all-rounder.
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