Shami, Shubman Combine to Give India a Winning Start

Rohit and Co cruised to a six-wicket win over an inconsistent Bangladesh in Dubai

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DUBAI: Shubman Gill is standing out in the crowd. He has been threatening to break away towards greatness for far too long. Now, in 50 overs cricket, India's new vice-captain appears to have acquired total control.

Gill's sublime unbeaten 101 (129b, 9x4, 2x6) under the Dubai night sky guided India to a comfortable six-wicket win against Bangladesh in their first Champions Trophy outing on Thursday.

After his ton in the last ODI at Ahmedabad, Gill got another one to continue his rich vein of form. After 50 matches into his ODI career, Gill's batting average has climbed above 60, with the promise of so much more to come. Some of his inside-out strokes fully negated whatever threat Bangladesh's newfound pace mojo threatened to pose.

India's run chase of 229 wasn't entirely convincing, especially during the middle overs, a phase in which the Indian bowlers couldn't get any wickets either.

Rohit-Gill tango

Rohit Sharma and Gill can pro-when they decide to hit the high gears early.

Rohit takes the risks. Gill sends the ball soaring without putting his wicket on the line. For the first 10 overs, that was Indian batting's happy space.