3 Big Concerns For India Ahead Of Pakistan Match In Champions Trophy 2025

Probuddha Bhattacharjee

Indian team [Source: @BCCI/x.com]Indian team [Source: @BCCI/x.com]

Story continues below ADVERTISEMENT

India have started their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign on a strong note. The Rohit Sharma-led side defeated their Asian rivals, Bangladesh, by six wickets with about four overs remaining.

While there were some bright spots in India's performance, there were some concerns that the management will look to improve. In this article, we will try to analyse India's performance in the game and look at the points that Rohit Sharma would want his team to improve on.

1. In Effectivity Of The Bowling In The Middle Phase

Mohammed Shami starred with the ball for India [Source: @BCCI/x.com]Mohammed Shami starred with the ball for India [Source: @BCCI/x.com]

The Indian pacers gave the team a solid start. Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana had the opposition reeling at 26/3 within the seventh over of the innings. Axar Patel followed the footsteps of the two pacers and started his spell with two crucial wickets. As a result of the two wickets by Patel, Bangladesh were left struggling at 35/5 in the ninth over. At the end of the 10 overs, Bangladesh were stationed at 39/5. 

India would have hoped to bundle out Bangladesh very quickly from there on. However, in the next 30 overs, Bangladesh scored 126 runs without losing a single wicket. The Indian bowlers failed to pick up wickets in that phase. If not corrected, the inability to pick up wickets in the middle phase might prove costly for India in the big matches.

2. Fielding Lapses

Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli came up with two sharp efforts in the field during the Bangladesh match. However, the unit dropped a couple of catches and let go of a stumping chance. These lapses resulted in Jaker Ali and Towhid Hridoy putting together a stellar partnership and taking Bangladesh to a respectable total.

The Indian management will look to put in special effort to sort out this problem. Fielding lapses against other teams in crucial games like the semis or the tournament's final might prove too costly for them if not treated at the correct time.

3. Undercooked Middle-Order

Shubman Gill scripted India's successful chase [Source: @BCCI/x.com]Shubman Gill scripted India's successful chase [Source: @BCCI/x.com]

Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma gave India a solid start and laid the perfect foundation for the chase in the first game. There was not much pressure on the Indian middle-order after the start that was provided. However, the Indian middle-order looked a bit undercooked for the big stage. They lost wickets and also failed to keep the scoreboard ticking. 

The ideal thing for Indian would have been an early finish, losing fewer wickets. The fact that the game was dragged to the 47th over of the second innings indicates that the Indian middle-order will have to work on their batting to present themselves as a stronger unit in the next game.