ISLAMABAD: A flying start by openers Rohit Sharma and Shabman Gill, followed by a solid inning by the chasing master Virat Kohli drove India to a 7-wicket victory against Bangladesh in the ICC Contest being played at Pune on Thursday. This was the fourth consecutive win by India in the mega event.
Chasing a target of 257 to win Indian openers initiated the innings with 7 runs per over to get Bangladeshi bowlers under pressure. In the first 10 overs they managed to cross 70 runs without losing a wicket. In the 13th over when the score reached 92, Bangladesh got the first wicket of Rohit Sharma on 48 while facing 40 balls. His inning included 7 boundaries and 2 long sixes. Rohit was replaced by the chasing master Virat Kohli. He along with Shubman Gill made the task further easy. In the 20th over, after completing his half century Shubman Gill was dismissed on 53.
In a couple of overs later India lost the 3rd wicket when Shreyas Iyer got out on 19. At the stage India were 178 for three in 29.1 overs. Meanwhile Kohli also completed his half century. At the stage it was just a cup of tea for Virat and number five batter K. L. Rahul to chase the target. Both the batter reached the target very easily. Indian won the game in the 42nd over with 7 wickets in hand. Virat Kohli managed to complete his splendid century (103) while playing the wining short. His inning included 4 sixes and 6 boundaries. K. L. Rahul also remained unbeaten on 34 while facing 34 balls.
From Bangladesh Mehidy Hasan Miraz got 2 wickets while Hasan Mahmud got one wicket.
Bangladesh Batting:
Earlier winning the toss Bangladesh decided to bat first. Both the openers Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das took a decent and flying start. They managed to score 63 runs in the 10 over powerplay without a loss and put Indian bowling line under pressure. Both batters put 93 runs partnership for the 1st wicket in 14.4 overs.
However, in the same over Kuldeep Yadav managed to remove Tanzid on 51 while facing 43 balls. Litton Das also completed his half century. However, at the stage India managed to get further quick wickets. Number three batter Najmul Hossain Shanto was dismissed by Jadeja on 8, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz was removed by Siraj on 3. After a couple of overs inform Litton Das also got out on 66. At the stage Bangladesh were 137 for 4 in the 28th over. Faling of quick wickets brought down run rate of the batting side. After losing 4 wickets Mushfiq and Towhid Hridoy managed to stay on the crease for a while. However, in the 38th over when the score reached 179, Towhid was removed by Thakur on 16. Towhid was replaced by Mahmudullah who along with Mushfiq pushed the scoreboard ahead. Mushfiq added 38 crucial runs and was got out in the 43rd over. Mushfiq was replaced by number 8 batter Nasum Ahmad, but Nasum was soon removed by Siraj on 14. At the stage Bangladesh were 233 for 7 in 45.5 overs. On the other hand, Mahmudullah managed to push the inning ahead while adding some crucial runs. However, Bumrah bowled him in the last over. He scored important 46 runs on 36 balls. In 50 overs Bangladesh scored 256 runs for the loss of 8 wickets.
From India Jadeja was the most successful bowling taking 2 wickets while conceding 38 runs in his 10 over spill. Siraj and Bumrah also took two wickets while Thakur and Kuldeep got one wicket each.
India Team: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul †, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj
Bangladesh Team: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim †, Mahmudullah, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud
