Nidahas Trophy 2018, India vs Bangladesh 5th T20I: 5 things that went right for India

After having started off on the wrong foot with a defeat to Sri Lanka in the opening game, the Indian team has found its wings in the three games that have followed, combining as a proven unit, despite the lack of experience in its ranks, to make its way to the finals. From the 19-year-old Washington Sundar to the 32-year-old Shikhar Dhawan, the team members clicked as a unit (barring a few aberrations) once again, exhibiting how India's bench strength is also a force to reckon with.

Here are five things that went right for Team India:

#1 Rohit Sharma's return to form

The Indian captain has been at the receiving end of some not-so-sweet outrage on social media owing to his poor form in T20Is, failing to go past 21 in his last six T20I innings. Despite having scored a 35-ball T20I ton just three months back, the reputation that the fluent batsman carries skyrockets the expectation factor as well.

As he does in all his mega knocks, Rohit got off to a steady start, biding his time to first get his eye in. With Shikhar Dhawan continuing his golden run, Sharma got the leeway to take his time. When the timing came back, so did the exuberance. And vintage Rohit was on display all over again.

His first 43 balls saw him score 51 runs, but the next 18 saw him score as many as 38 runs, as all kinds of drives, swipes, pulls and scoops came out on display, launching India to a healthy total.

#2 Able assistance from Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina

Two southpaws who have been amongst the runs throughout the series, Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina played the supporting roles to perfection, revolving around Rohit Sharma's knock to make sure that Bangladesh's target was a hefty one.

Dhawan started off in fine fashion, helping India reach their fifty in the seventh over itself, executing his trademark strokes in the powerplays to get the team off to a flier. By the time Dhawan departed, the score was already 70, inside the half-way mark of the innings.

Suresh Raina then did what he does best, coming in all guns blazing and providing some much-needed fireworks even as Rohit slowly found his form, playing an enterprising knock of 47 off just 30 deliveries, studded with five fours and two sixes, to launch the innings past the 150-run mark.

#3 Washington Sundar's super spell

The cricketing acumen that Sundar possesses, at the young age of 18, is praiseworthy. He has been in superb form throughout the tri-series, but dished out one of his best spells in his short but sweet international career in the fifth game, rattling the Bangladeshis with a stifling spell at the start of the innings.

Having taken to the Indian team like a fish to water, Sundar bowled with maturity way ahead of his years, first delivering tight, nagging lines at the start to force the batsmen to commit mistakes: prising out the top-3 Bangladeshi batsmen in his first spell itself. The rash strokes executed by the trio showed the desperation of their inability to crack the Sundar code, forcing them to take extreme measures.

He returned towards the death to hurl unplayable full deliveries outside the off-stump, helping increase the run-rate further as the Bangladeshi chase went off the rails.

#4 Chahal and Shankar's supporting act

While Sundar starred with a stellar role in his opening spell, the team needed a supporting cast to complete the picture, and Yuzvendra Chahal and Vijay Shankar put up their hands to be counted. Chahal, banking on the experience he has gained in the Indian jersey over the last two years, bowled flat and at the stumps, slipping silent overs in the middle to thwart any chances of a counter-attacking knock.

With Mohammed Siraj feeling the heat, the onus was on Vijay Shankar to use the sluggish pitch to good effect. Although he did not pick up any wickets, his cutters and slower deliveries were enough to ensure that Mushfiqur Rahim's solo act did not find the support it needed. Combined, the two gave away only 49 runs in the 8 overs they bowled.

#5 Thakur's crucial penultimate over

A hapless Mohammed Siraj, still finding his feet in international cricket, struggled to get the right lines throughout the innings, giving Bangladesh a glimmer of hope amidst steadily building run-rates. The equation, although still in India's favour, boiled down to 33 runs off the last two overs. With a red-hot Mushfiqur Rahim at one end, things could have gone out of control.

Thakur, who did not make much of an impact in his first spell, returned to deliver a gem of a penultimate over, giving away just five runs to ensure that even an off-colour Siraj had enough to defend.

Mixing up his knuckleballs (the ones he used to devastating effect in the last game) with a fair share of slower balls, Thakur made sure that the two batsmen did not get enough pace off the slow pitch to find their strokes towards the end. By the time the over ended, the target was firmly out of reach of the Tigers.