In cricket, it is said it’s ain’t over till the last ball is bowled. And the phrase stayed true in the India-Bangladesh ICC World Twenty20 tie that ended in a thriller in the favour of hosts.
In cricket, it is said it’s ain’t over till the last ball is bowled. And the phrase stayed true in the India-Bangladesh ICC World Twenty20 tie that ended in a thriller in the favour of hosts.
Even as the much hyped India batting was a flop show, the bowling covered it and gave Mahendra Singh Dhoni & Co an exciting one-run win over Bangladesh at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.
Chasing 147 in 20 overs, Bangladesh fell short under pressure thanks to an exciting over from medium pacer Hardik Pandya that helped India through.
With 11 required, skipper Dhoni’s decision to give Pandya seemed to have had backfired after the rookie conceded back-to-back boundaries. Not lost hope, the Baroda pacer bounced back to dismiss crucial Bangladesh batsmen Mushfiqur Rahman and Mahmudullah in consecutive deliveries.
As two needed from the last ball, Pandya bowled a dot to Shuvagata Hom, but the batsmen in an attempt to tie the match, ran, but could not be faster than keeper Dhoni who ran Mustafizur Rahman out and gave India a reason to celebrate holy with much joy.
This gives India their second victory in the tournament and keeps the hope of a semifinal spot alive while the defeat sees Bangladesh out of the tournament.
The kind of target that India posted was never easy on this wicket. Indian bowlers bowled superbly despite four dropped catches at crucial stages of the game.
Off-spinner R Ashwin once again stole the limelight with his smart bowling conceding 20 runs from his quota that got him two crucial scalps.
Earlier, the Indian batting once again came a cropper in the tournament. The only difference was it came against Bangladesh.
Put into bat by Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza, Dhoni’s side was found struggling against a much disciplined Bangladesh attack.
The Chinnaswamy wicket wasn’t anything different from the previous two games. The slowness in the wicket and slight turn did not give the batsmen enough freedom to open their arms.
There was no individual brilliance with the bat but everybody chipped in with vital contributions that saw India post a stiff 146/7 in 20 overs.
The opening blues continued as both Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma once again blew away their chances after getting good starts.Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma once again blew away their chances after getting good starts.
Stylish batsman Rohit Sharma looked in good touch. His classy drive to talented Bangaldesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman that went over mid-off to a six was made it evident. However, the Mumbai batsman once again threw away an opportunity for a big score, resulting in his eight failure while trying to slog Rahman and ending up giving a simple Sabbir Rahman.
The story was no different for Dhawan as he continued his struggle despite getting 23. His dismissal exposed his technique against spin, bringing it down to 45 for two.
Pakistan match hero Virat Kohli once again stood there and looked solid. But credit to Bangladesh captain for mixing up his pacers and spinners that made difficult for India to pace up the innings.
The Delhi batsman did not waste deliveries and kept rotating the strike well while Suresh Raina went for the big shots although most of them weren’t connected and those connected went out of the park.
While the partnership was blossoming, Kohli, who slogged offie Shuvagata Hom over mid-wicket boundary for a maximum, failed in his second try and got cleaned up for 24, ending the 50 run partnership.
Raina, too, followed his teammate while attempting an unsuccessful pull against Al Amin Hossain that landed in Rahman’s hands.
Big hitter Hardik Pandya (15) showed his skills and then succumbed to a brilliant diving catch from Soumya Sarkar at the deep square leg off Hossain.
While Yuvraj Singh got out cheaply for three, Ravindra Jadeja’s cameo along with Dhoni’s unbeaten 12 was enough for them take India to a fighting total.
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