Nidahas Trophy, India vs Bangladesh: 5 reasons behind India's victory

India rebounded from their opening defeat at the Nidahas Trophy by beating Bangladesh comprehensively by six wickets at Colombo. Bangladesh batted first and were limited to 139/8 thanks to some magnificent bowling by the Indian bowlers.

In reply, India began well but they lost skipper Rohit Sharma early before losing Rishabh Pant for only seven.

A 68-run partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina put India in the driver’s seat.

Manish Pandey then added a fine finishing touch by scoring a 19-ball 27 to take India past the finish line with 10 balls to spare.

Let’s take a look at five reasons why India won against Bangladesh.

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#5 Karthik’s performance

Karthik had a very fine outing today with both bat and gloves.

On the field, Karthik did a really good job behind the stumps. Amongst others, he took two catches to dismiss two of Bangladesh’s most crucial batsmen.

He took a catch to dismiss Mushfiqur Rahim for 18 which also gave Vijay Shankhar his first ever wicket in international cricket.

His second catch was to dismiss Sabbir Rahman for 30 who at the time, was elevating his scoring rate and looked to take Bangladesh to a total of 145-150.

The KKR captain came in to bat when the match was already under India’s belt but made sure to make an impact.

He scored 27 from 19 deliveries, smashing three boundaries. Provided Karthik continues to perform in this manner, he could be in India’s scheme of things in the immediate future.

#4 The partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina

Dhawan and Raina's 68-run partnership consolidated India's position in the match

India began their run-chase well but they lost two early wickets in Sharma and Pant. At this point, India needed a partnership which could keep them settled. Defending wickets was India’s priority as the required run-rate wasn’t too high.

Raina joined Dhawan at the crease and the duo defied the Bangladesh bowlers with their sensible batting and occasional boundary hitting.

They added 68 for the third wicket from 54 deliveries to keep India on track for victory. The partnership was broken after Raina was dismissed for 28. Dhawan went on to make 55 from 43 deliveries.

#3 The economical spells by the spinners

Chahal and Sundar did a great job by containing the opposition batsmen

India’s spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar did not bag a lot of wickets, but their eight overs of bowling contained the Bangladesh batsmen for a good amount of time.

Sundar began his spell by conceding a boundary but redeemed himself by bowling five dot balls. His line and length was pretty good for the remainder of his spell and he ended with figures of 0/23 from his four overs.

Chahal also did not have a good start, conceding nine runs from his first over.

However, he came back well by containing the Bangladeshi batsmen throughout his remaining three overs, taking the wicket of top-scorer Liton Das in the process. He ended the spell with 1/19 from his four overs.

The economical bowling from the spinners was a crucial reason why Bangladesh were restricted to 139.

#2 The death bowling

Shardul Thakur bowled two magnificent overs during the death

India did not have Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Jasprit Bumrah but their death bowling was spot on today.

From the final five overs, India conceded only 32 runs and took four wickets. It began with Chahal dismissing Das in the 16th over which eventually went for just four runs.

In the following over, Jaydev Unadkat conceded eight runs and took the wicket of Mehedy Hasan Miraz.

However, the highlight of the death was the 18th over which was brilliantly bowled by Shardul Thakur. He conceded just two runs.

The 19th over was a little expensive as Unadkat conceded a four and a six off Sabbir Rahman but not before dismissing him. Thakur bowled a brilliant final over by conceding just five runs.

#1 The wicket-taking spells by the pacers

Shankar was phenomenal with the ball along with the likes of Unadkat and Thakur

The spinners played their part in containing the Bangladesh batsmen. However, the pacers did a remarkable job by taking the wickets. The likes of Unadkat, VShankar and Thakur took five wickets between them.

Unadkat was expensive with an economy rate of 9.5 but he was the pick of the Indian bowlers with three wickets, dismissing Soumya Sarkar, Rahman and Miraz.

Shankar conceded 32 runs from his four overs but took his first two international wickets and both were key wickets- Rahim and Mahmudullah.

He was eventually adjudged the Man of the Match.

Thakur was the most economical of the pacers, conceding only 25 runs from his four overs and dismissing Tamim Iqbal. The Indian fast bowlers’ wicket-taking spells were crucial in limiting Bangladesh to below 140.