Virat Kohli (64 not out of 44 balls) and KL Rahul (50 off 32 balls) starred in India's five-run win over Bangladesh via Duckworth Lewis System (DLS) in a nail-biting Super 12 encounter of the T20 World Cup in Adelaide on Wednesday, 2 November.
With the win, India now top Group 2 with six points from four matches and are all but through into the semi-finals. Bangladesh also are not out of the tournament, but need to win their final Super 12 match against Pakistan on Sunday, and hope for other results to go their way as well.
After being sent to bat first, India rode fifties from Kohli and Rahul to post a challenging total of 184/6 after 20 overs. For Bangladesh, Hasan Mahmud emerged the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 3/47 in four overs.
Chasing a revised target of 151 in 16 overs after rain disrupted play, Bangladesh fell short by five runs following some excellent fielding and bowling from the Indian side.
Litton Das (60 off 27 balls) had given Bangladesh a good start but it went in vain as they failed to reach the required target. Arshdeep Singh (2/38) and Hardik Pandya (2/28) stood out for the Indians, taking two wickets apiece.
Kohli, Rahul Take Steer India to 184/6
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma survived an early scare when he was dropped at deep backward square leg by Hasan Mahmud off Taskin Ahmed’s second over.
However, Hasan struck the very next over by getting rid of Rohit (2), who tried to make room for himself for an uppercut, only to hit it straight to Yasar Ali at backward point.
Meanwhile, Rohit’s opening partner KL Rahul was a treat to watch as he dislodged the Bangladesh bowlers all over the park to score his first fifty of the T20 World Cup off just 32 balls.
Soon after making his fifty, Rahul’s fine innings ended after he top-edged a delivery from Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hassan into the hands of Mustafizur Rahman.
Both Rahul and Virat Kohli stitched a 67-run partnership for the second wicket to take India’s score to 78 until the former’s dismissal. New batter Suryakumar Yadav kept the Indian scoreboard ticking as he raced to a 16-ball 30 before Shakib struck once again to dismiss the in-form Indian.
There on, India lost three wickets under 41 runs as India struggled at 157/6 in 18.1 overs. Meanwhile, Kohli stood his ground and played anchor all along as he scored his third fifty of the tournament.
A late cameo from Ravichandran Ashwin (13 not out of 6 balls) and some superb hitting from Kohli revived the Indian innings as they posted a challenging total of 184/6 after the stipulated 20 overs.
Bangladesh Five Runs Short of Required Target
Liton Das began the Bangladesh chase with a sliced four past backward point off Arshdeep first ball of the match. He would take two more fours off the left-arm pacer in the second over via drives down the ground and through cover.
He then teared into Bhuvneshwar Kumar, pulling him for a six over deep mid-wicket before taking consecutive fours through off-side. Das brought out the shot of Bangladesh's innings when he scooped a six over his shoulder off Bhuvneshwar in the fifth over.
Shami was the next Indian bowler to be taken to the cleaners, as Das heaved him over backward square leg for four. He brought up fifty in 21 balls with a top-edge on the pull going over deep square leg fence and followed up with an inside-out loft over extra cover for second four in the final over of power-play.
When rain forced teams off the field, Bangladesh were 66/0 in seven overs, well ahead of the DLS par score of 49.
As play resumed after 50 minutes of rain, India found immediate success as Rahul's smooth direct hit from deep mid-wicket caught Das short of his crease at non-striker's end.
Shanto hit a brace of boundaries, but holed out to long-on off Shami. Arshdeep made a double strike as Afif Hossain miscued a slog to mid-on running in from the deep and Shakib Al Hasan fell in similar fashion while trying to clear the short boundary.
Wickets continued to tumble for Bangladesh as top-edge on Yasir Ali's pull off Hardik Pandya was sliced to point and Mosaddek Hossain chopped on to his stumps. Though Nurul Hasan and Taskin Ahmed hit six boundaries in the last three overs, including two in the final over, India managed to hold their nerve for a tight win.
Brief scores: India 184/6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 64 not out, KL Rahul 50; Hasan Mahmud 3/47, Shakib Al Hasan 2/33) bt Bangladesh 145/6 in 16 overs (Litton Das 60, Nurul Hasan 25 not out; Hardik Pandya 2/28, Arshdeep Singh 2/38).
(With inputs from IANS)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)