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DUBAI : India captain Rohit Sharma plans to take teammate Axar Patel to dinner to make amends after denying the spinner a hat-trick in Thursday's Champions Trophy match against Bangladesh.
Shubman Gill was more artisan than artist en route to his eighth ODI hundred after Mohammed Shami's satisfying five-wicket haul, propelling India to a workmanlike six-wicket win over Bangladesh in their Champions Trophy opener in Dubai on Thursday. Gill's unbeaten innings (101, 129b, 9x4. 2x6) had a mirror image in Bangladesh innings through Towhid Hridoy's 100 (118b) that lifted them to 228 from the depths of 35 for five after batting by choice. But India negated various pressure points, including a sluggish surface, during their chase effectively through Gill's knock full of substance, and ended up at 231 for four in 46.3 overs.
Former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar believes Pakistan's next matches will shed more light on whether the "intent" of the defending champions is an issue or an "inherent ability." Pakistan left the fans agitated with their lack of intent and laggard approach while pursuing a daunting 321-run target against New Zealand in the Champions Trophy opener in Karachi. On a dry strip filled with cracks, a 321-run target appeared to be chasable if Pakistan batters stuck to a run-a-ball approach. However, Pakistan batters' unrushed approach slowly took them out of the race.
The first round of matches in Group A of the Champions Trophy 2025 are over. After New Zealand's comprehensive win over Pakistan in Karachi on Wednesday, India overcame a gritty Bangladesh in Dubai on Thursday. Currently, New Zealand lead the table (2 points, NRR +1.200) followed by India (2 points, NRR +0.408). Bangladesh are third in the table from Group A (0 points, NRR -0.408) while Pakistan are fourth (0 points, NRR - 1.200). India's next round of matches are on February 23 (vs Pakistan) and March 2 (vs New Zealand). Apart from the India fixture, Pakistan face Bangladesh on February 27 in Rawalpindi. For New Zealand, apart from the India clash, the other match is against Bangladesh on February 24.
Ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy campaign opener against South Africa, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said that the team faces no pressure against Proteas and is here to win the title. Afghanistan will kickstart their ICC Champions Trophy campaign against South Africa at February 21 at Karachi, followed by matches against England (February 26 at Lahore), and Australia (February 28 at Lahore). Speaking ahead of the match as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, Shahidi said that there is a lot of difference between Afghanistan from the year 2019 till now and they have defeated Proteas in an ODI series before the CT2025.
Indian pacer Mohammed Shami completed 200 ODI wickets on Thursday, becoming the fastest to reach the milestone in terms of balls taken. Shami accomplished this milestone during India's ICC Champions Trophy campaign opener against Bangladesh in Dubai. During the match, he bowled his full quota of 10 overs and looked in a nice rhythm. He ended his spell with 5/53 in 10 overs, getting wickets of Soumya Sarkar, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Taskin Ahmed. In 104 ODIs, Shami has 202 wickets at an average of 23.63, with best figures of 7/57. He has six five-wicket hauls as well. He is India's eighth-highest ODI wicket-taker.
Former India batter Navjot Singh Sidhu said that the upcoming Champions Trophy clash between India and Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday is going to be the "mother of all battles". The veteran commentator added the team that will perform better under pressure has the chance of winning the blockbuster encounter. "It is the mother of all battles. There's nothing bigger than this. I think it's the tension that holds everybody together. When 150 crore people expect a win from you, they will never swallow a defeat. There is a culture of retribution. This game is played more between the ears than between the hands - it's a psychological battle. There's plenty of nervous energy floating around, but the side that converts it into positive energy is the side that will win," Sidhu said on a special episode of JioHotstar's Greatest Rivalry Returns.
PARIS: If Lille need further motivation in their drive to qualify for the Champions League next season, then they need only look at Nabil Bentaleb’s remarkable return. The Lille midfielder scored four minutes after going on last Sunday in a 2-0 win at Rennes and was mobbed by his teammates. It wasn’t that he scored so soon after going on that made the goal so special, but rather because Bentaleb started training again only this month after suffering a cardiorespiratory arrest in mid-June. The 30-year-old was put into an artificial coma and fitted with a pacemaker-defibrillator days later. Doctors doubted the Algeria international would ever play again let alone resume his career at the top level. “It’s a story worthy of a movie. It brings Nabil even more joy and emotion because he is a boy who is very well liked in the group,” coach Bruno Genesio said. “It’s pretty rare to experience this. It’s a moment that will remain engraved in the history of the club.”