Cricket surely is a funny game, but India’s progress into the second stage of the World Cup is almost certain after their comfortable win over Bangladesh on Saturday.
Cricket surely is a funny game, but India’s progress into the second stage of the World Cup is almost certain after their comfortable win over Bangladesh on Saturday. They need to beat two other minnows — Ireland and The Netherlands — and they’d be assured of a quarterfinal berth. Not that anyone had expected otherwise, but one would do well by recollecting that Bangladesh were the side that had embarrassed India in the 2007 World Cup.
That defeat appears to rankle the Indian team even today. Such was the intensity of the players on the field that even a say Munaf Patel, otherwise stoic, was celebrating wildly. The pacer was pumped up and showed his emotions every time he picked up a wicket. He was the pick of the bowlers for India. He bowled to a perfect line, teasing the batsmen with his accuracy.
Virender Sehwag said that in no uncertain terms and even ‘teased’ Bangladesh. “It was a good start for the team, I have said this is a revenge game and we have won. I have said before Bangladesh are not good in Tests, but they can compete in ODIs, but today they could not,” he said.
But for Sreesanth’s early waywardness, India’s bowling was spot-on. The Bangladesh batsmen had to take risk to score big. Discipline would be an understatement. “We have won, so very happy. Just focused on line and length, some slower balls in the slot, and I am working on my fitness. My fitness is very good,” Munaf said.
But the story of the day was India’s batting and Virat Kohli was an unlikely hero. The youngster grew in confidence as he allied with his Delhi teammate, Sehwag, in the middle. The duo enjoyed each other’s company and success and took the attack to the Bangladesh camp.
Kohli was slow off the blocks but his strike-rate improved gradually. Kohli’s first 50 came off 46 balls, while the second took just 37. He was unbeaten with exactly 100 to his name.
Kohli played with controlled aggression. Before the game, he was involved in a race for the spot in the XI with Suresh Raina, an accomplished middle-order batsman. But the unbeaten century has sealed Kohli’s place. He also became the first Indian to have scored a century on World Cup debut.
In the end, Bangladesh managed a respectable 283 for nine. Evidently, they kept the net run-rate (NRR) factor in mind and ensured they batted out the 50 overs. “I think we bowled too many boundary balls and that cost us the game. Sehwag took it away, he played really well. Our fast bowlers were a bit rusty, hopefully they will come back well,” Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan admitted.
Dhoni praised Sehwag and Kohli but asked for a better show from his fielders. “We will need to improve our fielding, we will need to contribute some more. While fielding, we will want to save around ten runs. When you have lost a couple of wickets, you need to stabilise, and it was nice to see Sehwag and Kohli do that. As a team we fight injuries, so it is good to have a long break before the next game,” the skipper said.
Sehwag, who was named MoM, praised physio Paul Close for keeping him going. “I was looking to bat long, maybe get a 100 in 30 overs and then go on. My special thanks to my physio for helping me, I was carrying a couple of injuries and they got me ready for this game,” he said.
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