India report card for Champions Trophy opener: 10/10 for Gill & Shami, 4/10 for Kohli’s flop show

India cricket team put up a clinical performance against Bangladesh in their Champions Trophy opener to clinch a 6-wicket win. While the likes of Shubman Gill, Shami and Axar Patel fired in Dubai, veteran Virat Kohli flopped yet again. The Men in Blue will now take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their high-octane contest on Sunday.

Rohit Shamra – 7/10

The Indian captain had a rather decent outing in the team’s Champions Trophy opener. His captaincy was on point once again. The move to bring in Axar Patel in the 9th over worked wonders, with the spinner managing to nearly get a hat-trick. His usage of Shami and Rana were undoubtedly on point as well. With the bat, the Hitman managed to score 41 runs off 36 deliveries. Rohit turned back the clock to display some fiersome batting, dominating Mustafizur Rahman.

Shubman Gill – 10/10

The Indian vice-captain was the star of the day for the team, slamming his first-ever century in an ICC event. Gill stayed unbeaten on 101 off 129 deliveries at the end of India’s run-chase. It is pertinent to point out that prior to this match, Gill’s highest score in an ICC event was 92, which he scored in the ODI World Cup 2023. Despite having five half-centuries to his name in the tournament, he did not manage to breach the triple-figure mark. Rohit Sharma’s deputy surely looks like he is ready to embrace the role of a chase-master for India in the future.

Virat Kohli – 4/10

Virat failed to fire once again with the bat. He managed to score just 22 runs off 38 deliveries, at a strike rate of 57.89. While the chase master did show some promising signs of storming back into form in IND vs ENG ODI series, he has once again emerged as a point of concern for India. The veteran will have to go all guns blazing in India’s upcoming contests against Pakisstan and New Zealand in the Champions Trophy in order to not overburden the middle-order.

Shreyas Iyer – 3/10

India’s best number four batter only managed to score 15 runs in the run-chase against Bangladesh. His innings came to a premature end, thanks to a catch taken by Bangladesh skipper Shanto off Mustafizur Rahman’s delivery.

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Axar Patel – 8/10

Axar’s performance with the ball outweighed his antics with the bat against Bangladesh. The all-rounder nearly got a hat-trick and lost out on his third wicket, thanks to Rohit Sharma dropping a catch at the slips. Among the Indian spinners, Axar was the only player who tasted success on Thursday. He finished with figures of 2/43 from his nine overs. With the bat, he only managed to score 8 runs.

KL Rahul – 8/10

KL Rahul proved why he was India’s first-choice wicketkeeper and number 6 batter once again. Behind the stumps, the Karnataka star was lightning quick, including taking a brilliant catch off Axar Patel to get rid of Tanzid Hassan. With the bat, he scored 41 runs and steered India past the finish line with a last-ball six to seal the win for the Men in Blue.

Hardik Pandya – 5/10

Hardik did not manage to take any wickets in the game against Bangladesh. He only bowled 4 overs and conceded 20 runs.

Ravindra Jadeja – 5/10

Like Pandya, Jadeja too did not taste much success. He went wicketless in the game in Dubai, finishing with figures of 0/37 from 9 overs.

Harshit Rana – 8/10

Harshit continued to impress as he bagged three wickets in the Champions Trophy opener. He conceded just 31 runs in 7.4 overs, playing the perfect partner to Shami.

Mohammed Shami – 10/10

Shami turned back the clock once again to prove why he was India’s mosst lethal white-ball weapon. The veteran grabbed a five-wicket haul in his very first match in an ICC event after making his comeback to international cricket. Shami ran through Bangladesh’s batting line-up to finish with figures of 5/53 in his 10 overs.

Kuldeep Yadav – 4/10

Kuldeep strugged to take wickets against Bangladesh and did not open his account. In 10 overs, he conceded 43 runs while maintaining a decent economy rate. However, India will be hoping that Yadav gets back into the groove in the matches against Pakistan and New Zealand.