India lived to fight another day at the World T20 by defeating Bangladesh by 1 run in a match the hosts were pretty much on the backfoot throughout. Batting first India could only score 146 in their 20 overs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on a pitch that offered much assistance to the bowlers.
Bangladesh started out their run chase impressively though and looked in control throughout with successive batsmen easing the pressure with a few useful contributions. However, a dramatic final over by Hardik Pandya, that saw him conceding two boundaries in the first three overs, before picking up the wickets of Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah to take the ball into the final delivery, with Bangladesh requiring two runs to win the match.
Shuvagata Hom heaved but missed the ball completely and an alert Dhoni ran up and broke the stumps before Mustafizur Rahman could make it to the crease to give India an unbelievable victory.
Here is how the players rated from both sides.
India
Rohit Sharma – 6/10
Set to play his first international match at Bengaluru since scoring the first of his two ODI double centuries against Australia back in 2013, Rohit Sharma sounded bullish in his pre-match comments, but unfortunately for India, the Mumbai cricketer once again failed to live up to his words. He scored a delightful six in the long-off region before playing an inexplicable slog on one knee that only skied up for a comfortable catch for the square leg fielder.
Shikhar Dhawan – 7/10
Dhawan never looked to get going as he struggled to get used to the slow nature of the surface. He did pretty well though in knocking the ball around and rotating the strike in the initial overs. But just when he seemed to have played his way out of trouble with a huge six of Mustafizur’s bowling, he fell to Shakib al Hasan, caught in front of the wickets, for 23.
Virat Kohli – 7/10
The in-form Kohli had an unusually not-so-good day at the office tonight though as he failed to connect with the ball throughout his 24-ball stay at the crease in his ‘home’ ground. He seemed to try to hit the ball a little too hard at times and couldn’t produce his free-flowing style that Indian fans have gotten used to from the team’s vice-captain.
Suresh Raina – 7/10
Coming into the match tonight with only one run in two matches, Raina was under tremendous pressure. The left-hander also had a couple of close calls early on with a direct hit and a chance at deep square leg that perhaps Shuvagata Hom should have held on to. Raina didn’t quite capitalise on the chances but he did score a handy 30, ending up as India’s top-scorer on the night.
Hardik Pandya – 7/10
Dhoni’s move to send in Pandya ahead of Yuvraj and himself might have been prompted by how well the all-rounder batted the last time the two sides faced each other during the Asia Cup. He did seem to in good nick tonight as well but, unfortunately, saw his innings curtailed thanks to a brilliant catch by Soumya Sarkar.
He was wayward with the ball and looked set to earn the fan’s wrath after a couple of loose deliveries in the final over but luck was on his side as Ravindra Jadeja held on to a crucial catch before Mahmudullah skied a full toss to the deep mid-wicket fielder as Bangladesh ultimately fell short by 1 run.
MS Dhoni – 7/10
Struggled to produce the late flurry as he has so often in the past, but didn’t allow the Indian innings to fall apart either late on after a few quick wickets. His excellent piece of work behind the stumps sent the dangerous looking Sabbir Rahman back to the pavilion. The Indian skipper was not done though as he played a key role in India’s victory by keeping his cool and running up to the stumps and dislodging the bails before Rahman could make it to the striker’s end, thus giving India victory by 1 run.
Yuvraj Singh – 4/10
Came in at No 7 to face the hat-trick ball from Al-Amin and though he managed to avoid that, Yuvraj never looked comfortable in the middle and his short 5-ball stay at the crease was over playing a pre-meditated shot that took the leading edge and popped into the fielder’s hand for a comfortable catch.
Ravindra Jadeja – 8/10
Smashed a couple of boundaries in the limited time he was afforded at the crease before falling prey to a beautiful inswinger by Mustafizur Rahman. Deceived the aggressive Tamim Iqbal with a quicker one that was fired through and also picked up the wicket of Mortaza. He was crucial in the field as well as he held his nerve to execute a pressure catch in the deep to send Mahmudullah back to the pavilion.
Ravichandran Ashwin – 8/10
With the pitch offering assistance to the spinners and India defending a low score, Ashwin was going to be India’s threat and he proved his importance by deceiving Mithun to give an early breakthrough. He should have had Tamim Iqbal in his kitty as well only for Jasprit Bumrah to drop a sitter. He didn’t let it affect him much though as he also picked up the wicket of Shakib Al Hasan at a moment when the latter was threatening to finish the game off in quick fashion.
Jasprit Bumrah – 6/10
Had a forgettable day to start with as he dropped a sitter to let Tamim Iqbal off the hook and to compound the agony, was smashed for four boundaries by the Bangladeshi opener in his very next over. He did make a good comeback though in the death overs with a number of good yorkers but went wicketless in the match.
Ashish Nehra – 7/10
The 36-year-old bowled well yet again, but unfortunately from an Indian perspective, Nehra gave away a couple of loose deliveries in his final over that helped Bangladesh's cause immensely. Having put only 146 runs on the board, India needed more wickets from Nehra but the only one the left-armer managed was a lucky one as it came off a high full toss outside the off stump.
Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal – 7/10
Bangladesh missed Tamim Iqbal’s experience in their match against Australia earlier on and he showed how crucial he is at the top of the order tonight. He did have a huge slice of luck, after Bumrah dropped a sitter, but he looked to play aggressively throughout and managed to alleviate any pressure that might have built up and ended up scoring 35 before being deceived by a quicker one from Ravindra Jadeja.
Mohammad Mithun – 2/10
Mithun was a lively presence on the field but he played rather irresponsibly with the bat as he attempted to take on perhaps India’s biggest threat in Ravichandran Ashwin only to end up being caught at long-on off just his second delivery.
Sabbir Rahman – 7/10
The youngster played fearlessly forming a crucial partnership with Tamim Iqbal at the top of the Bangladeshi innings and can count himself unlucky as his stay at the crease was only brought to an end by a brilliant stumping from MS Dhoni. Rahman had contributed well until then, though, scoring 26 off just 15 balls.
Shakib-al-Hassan – 8/10
The Bangladeshi all-rounder might have been woefully out of touch in the lead-up to the World T20, but there were signs that he had got his form back with a fine all-round performance. Any lingering doubts were erased after tonight’s performance as he showed why he is considered one of the best all-rounders in the game.
He had Dhawan in trouble early on with the ball and ultimately got the wicket of the Indian opener. He bowled economically as well before his figures were disfigured by Hardik Pandya later on, scoring eleven runs of Shakib’s final over. He did considerably well with the bat as well with a couple of clean strikes over the ropes thus alleviating the pressure whenever the Indian bowlers managed to restrict the flow of runs.
Mashrafe Mortaza – 7/10
The Bangladeshi skipper kept the Indian batsmen guessing with his frequent change of bowlers and looking at how any of the opposition batsmen failed to make a huge score, one has to say that the plan worked well. Mortaza was economical with the ball conceding only 22 runs in his four overs. Even more surprising was the fact that he promoted himself to the No 5 spot but the gamble proved to be a failure.
Soumya Sarkar – 7/10
Produced another gem of a catch to send Hardik Pandya back to the pavilion at a time when the Indian all-rounder was threatening to cut loose but it was his contribution with the bat that proved more important for Bangladesh. He batted sensibly scoring 21 runs at a-run-a-ball that took Bangladesh ever so near to the target.
Mahmudullah – 8/10
Eyebrows were raised when Mortaza decided to bring in Mahmudullah in the 17th over, but the part-time off-spinner repaid his captain’s faith getting the key wicket of Yuvraj Singh and giving away only four runs. It looked like he was going to lead Bangladesh to victory with the bat as well but missed the chance with a high full-toss as he held out at the deep with Bangladesh on the verge of a famous victory.
Mushfiqur Rahim – 7/10
The diminutive wicket-keeper batsman had a pretty quiet day on the field before he was called into action in a crunch situation as Bangladesh found themselves nearing the Indian target with each passing ball. Rahim started off playing more of a supporter role to Mahmudullah before taking matters into his own hands with a couple of boundaries in the final over, but couldn’t take them past the final hurdle.
Shuvagata Hom – 7/10
The off-spinner bowled well, especially considering that he was asked to bowl one within the powerplay overs. More importantly, he picked up the dangerous Kohli at a time when he was looking to flex his arms. He came to bat in the worst possible situation and, unfortunately, missed the final delivery that sealed the match in India’s favour.
Al-Amin Hossain – 7/10
Al-Amin had a mixed day on the field as he strayed from the brilliant to the wayward during his four overs. He bowled a number of good yorkers but spoilt the hard work with loose short deliveries that were rightly dispatched to the boundary. He did, however, pick up the wickets of the dangerous looking Suresh Raina and Hardik Pandya.
Mustafizur Rahman – 7/10
Much like Al-Amin, Mustafizur also had a mixed day as he bowled a few loose deliveries now and then. Overall he bowled well, with two of his overs coming towards the death. He picked up the wicket of Rohit Sharma to give Bangladesh their first wicket of the day and accounted for Ravindra Jadeja with a brilliant inswinger in the last over.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
