Bangladesh Wins Toss, Elects to Bat

Sports Desk

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto chose to bat first after winning the toss against India in their opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy at Dubai Sports City. Shanto stated that the decision was influenced by the pitch conditions, aiming to take full advantage of the batting surface.

India’s captain Rohit Sharma mentioned he would have opted to bowl first had he won the toss.

Bangladesh’s playing XI includes three pacers and two spinners, with experienced Mahmudullah Riyad left out. On the other hand, India has fielded three spinners in their bowling attack.

Pitch analysts Ravi Shastri and Ramiz Raja reported that the surface is fresh, with potential drying conditions in the evening. Groundskeepers confirmed there hasn’t been any dew on the field this season.

Bangladesh last defeated India in an ICC event during the 2007 ODI World Cup, winning by five wickets. However, they have failed to secure a victory in 10 subsequent encounters across ODIs and T20Is. Notably, they lost to India in the 2017 Champions Trophy semifinal.

Bangladesh XI: Tanzid Tamim, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Zakir Ali (wk), Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman.

India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.