Confident India meet Bangladesh in their Champions Trophy opener: Preview
What's the story
The Indian cricket team will take on Bangladesh in their first match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, on February 20.
The much-anticipated clash will take place in Dubai, a venue where Team India has an excellent record.
The Men in Blue will head into the tournament on a high, having registered a thumping 3-0 ODI series win over England at home.
Here is the match preview.
Details
Pitch conditions, and streaming details
The pitch at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium is expected to be slow. Hence, spinners will hold the key in this contest.
In the last 10 ODIs played at the venue, only once a team has managed to score more than 250 runs, as per ESPNcricinfo
The match be live telivised on Sony Sports Network while Jiostar will provide the live streaming (2:30pm IST).
Historical record
India's dominance in ODI cricket against Bangladesh
In ODI cricket history, India and Bangladesh have met 41 times, as per ESPNcricinfo.
The Indian team has been dominant in these encounters, winning 32 times, while Bangladesh has only managed to win eight times.
One match ended without a result.
In their only previous meeting in the Champions Trophy, in the 2017 event's semi-final, India registered a comprehensive nine-wicket triumph over Bangladesh.
Venue advantage
India's unbeaten streak against Bangladesh in Dubai
India and Bangladesh have faced each other twice in ODIs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, both times in the 2018 Asia Cup. India won on both occasions.
Overall, India has won five out of six ODIs at Dubai with one match ending in a tie.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, has only won one out of their three ODIs at this venue.
IND vs BAN
Can Bangladesh challenge India?
Bangladesh's ODI show since the 2023 World Cup hasn't been the most impressive, having won just four out of 12 matches.
Moreover, their squad selection has also stirred controversy as it has excluded key players like Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan.
It will be interesting to see how they will challenge the Indian unit, who are far ahead of them in terms of on-paper strength.
India's spin attack is one of the best in this tourney.
Team lineups
Probable XIs for India and Bangladesh
India (Probable XI): Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.
Bangladesh (Probable XI): Nazmul Hossain Shanto (c), Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim(wk), Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Nahid Rana.
Stats
Here are the key players
According to ESPNcricinfo, Virat Kohli is India's highest run-scorer against Bangladesh in ODIs, having scored 910 runs at an average of 75.83.
Rohit Sharma is a distant second with 786 runs at an average of 56.14.
For Bangladesh, skipper Najmul Shanto has been in top form in ODIs since 2024, scoring 286 runs at an average of 71.50.
Mustafizur Rahman has taken 25 wickets against India at an average of just over 21.