Follow UsIndian captain Rohit Sharma praised Mohammad Shami after he bowled a magnificent spell, picking up his maiden five-wicket haul in Champions Trophy history and guiding his team to a win over Bangladesh in their tournament opener on February 20 (Thursday) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS).
“[I am] very happy for him. [It’s been a] long time waiting. We know what he brings to us. We need guys like him to stand up when we need [it],” Rohit said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Rohit was also all praise for Shubman Gill, who scored his eighth ODI ton and did not let a tricky situation like India being 144/4, come in the way of the team’s chase of 229 at a slow surface.
“Gill and KL [Rahul] played really well. Gill, we know the class that he has, shouldn't surprise anyone. It was good to see him bat till the end,” Rohit said.
Rohit tried to play down the incident which saw him drop a catch of Jaker Ali off the bowling of Axar Patel. Had that catch been taken, Axar would have become the first Indian to take the Champions Trophy hat-trick.
“[I] May take him (Axar) for dinner tomorrow (smiles). That was an easy catch. I should have taken that catch with the standards I have set for myself. But I do know these things are bound to happen,” said the 37-year-old.
Talking about the slowness of the surface, Rohit said that he is not sure whether the surface will be similar in the marquee clash between India and Pakistan on December 23 (Sunday).
“Not sure, but it will be pretty much similar I guess. I am not the curator here to tell you how exactly it will play, but it looks like it, with the way the games have been played here,” he said.
Najmul Hossain Shanto, the Bangladesh captain, blamed it on the batters as his team lost their first game. They had lost five wickets in the powerplay, including that of the captain himself.
Had it not been for a record-breaking partnership between Jaker Ali and Towhid Hridoy for the sixth wicket, things might have been even worse for the Tigers.
“Losing five wickets in the powerplay cost us the game. Hridoy and Jaker batted brilliantly, but we still made mistakes on the field. [It was] Impressive batting from Hridoy and Jaker against their spinners. I hope they will continue doing the same,” said Shanto.
India will next play Pakistan in Dubai itself while Bangladesh will take on New Zealand in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.