Bangladesh were on the ropes against India in their Champions Trophy 2025 opening match at 35/5 within the ninth over. They would’ve been 35/6 if not for India captain Rohit Sharma’s dropped catch of Jaker Ali which prevented a hat-trick for Axar Patel.
However, the Tigers showed amazing resilience to claw back to 184/5 thanks to a tough-as-nails partnership of 154 between Jaker (68) and Hridoy.
Towhid, who spent over three hours batting under the Dubai heat, had to call the medical team multiple times as he clutched his thighs and abdomen due to severe cramping.
However, the 24-year-old kept pushing himself as he got to his maiden ODI hundred against a mighty opposition under extremely testing conditions to help his side reach a score of 228.
India started out in fine fashion as pace spearhead Mohammed Shami removed opener Soumya Sarkar with the final ball of the first over. Harshit Rana, who was given a chance ahead of Arshdeep Singh, then sent back Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto in the second over. Shami sent back Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the seventh over.
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Axar Patel double strike in the ninth over reduced Bangladesh to 35/5 when Towhid and Jaker began rebuilding.
Towhid was the more cautious one as he got to his eighth ODI fifth in 85 balls with a boundary off Ravindra Jadeja in the 37th over. The right hander then increased his pace with sixes off Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav followed by a boundary off Shami.
Towhid writhed in pain on multiple occasions but gulped down fluids to get to his maiden hundred with a single off Shami’s 49th over. He perished as the final wicket in Rana’s 50th over when he slogged to Shami at fine leg.
Towhid’s heroics amid a batting collapse had flashes of Australia’s Glenn Maxwell’s stunning 201 not out against Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup where he mowed down a target of 292 single-handedly all while hopping on one leg throughout his innings.
In the game at the Wankhede Stadium on a sultry evening, Maxwell walked in at 49/4, which is similar to Hridoy walking in at 26/3 and his team needing a big helping hand.
Australia were 292 after Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran scored and unbeaten 129 with contributions from other batters. Barely any other Australian batter offered support at the other end as Maxwell, who could barely stand, launched a counterattack that had 21 boundaries and 10 monstrous sixes. Thanks to Maxwell’s ludicrous batting, the eventual champions got over the line with 19 balls to spare.
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