India 196 bits in 5 (Hardik 50*, Tanzim 2-32) Bangladesh 146 for 8 (Shanto 40, Kuldeep 3-19, Bumrah 2-13) 50 runs.
The opening challenge
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s partnership has led to many wins against India, but they are yet to click in this T20 World Cup. There was a moment of confusion as he ran between the wickets and Rohit was not sure if he had a single to the right of midwicket. It was a stop-start, but we eventually got to it. The team will be hoping the same happens to them as the tournament progresses. Because if they are paired together in the top order, India can fill the middle order with sixes. The advantage is that it helps them post par-plus totals in difficult situations.
Bangladesh’s bright spot
Tanzim Hasan did his best to ruin the plan. He was the best bowler in Bangladesh and earned that status by doing what pinch batsmen hate to do. He was unpredictable. Kohli rushed to meet him but changed his pace and batted, allowing him to be dismissed. Suryakumar Yadav got a six off the first ball away but was overpowered by extra bounce in the next delivery. Tanzim’s slow ball behaved strangely as it stuck outside the pitch. And he hits the pitch hard to extract variation in bounce as he picks up speed.
India’s counterattack
Rishabh Pant was the arsonist. India went up from 71 for 1 to 77 for 3 before being caught nine balls without a boundary. Sometimes, in good hitting conditions, that’s the price you pay. The hitting conditions were not good. The pitch and outfield were slow. They could not bridge the gap until death. Fully aware of that fact, Pant came to life scoring 12 out of 15. A left-hander’s cover drive is usually a beautiful thing, but what Mustafizur had to endure was something else. It was a power stripped to its purest essence. It was really cold. Pant hit five boundaries off eight balls and fell for another.
highlight
Rishad Hossain will no longer be denied. He arrived at this T20 World Cup as the most exciting cricketer, despite having to wait as the culture in Bangladesh does not value wristspinners (despite the rest of the world making it clear that they are game-changers). By dismissing Pant, Bangladesh secured their best period of play in the game. A single and a dot came in 2.4 overs between the 12th and 15th overs. He also took two wickets, with both batsmen trying to attack him. Pants with reverse sweep and dube bold neck and crop. He may have run away a few times, but he never backed down. The same was true when he had to bowl one of the death overs.
half centurion
Hardik brought India out of the second lull. It was 120 for four at the start of the 15th over. He was 6/7. He then received a gift from Mahedi Hasan. It was a long hop with room to free his arms. That was it. Much of his power game comes from having incredible strength in his core and forearms. That is why he can even hit yorkers for boundaries. That’s why he doesn’t always have to swing the bat full swing. That’s why he has to be a little more adventurous than he is now. Although he came in for only 12 overs and faced 18 deliveries till the 18th, his ability to get to the boundary – each of his fours in the last two overs came off the bat – helped him score his fifty.
This was the kind of innings India could never have imagined. Even the statistics show it. Only once before in the entire history of T20Is have more than 196 runs been scored on a Saturday without any of the top five batsmen scoring 50 runs. They are usually freight trains, starting slowly but steadily gaining strength. Through this World Cup, they are finding a new identity. Of the seven batters who appeared there, four recorded a strikeout rate of 150 or higher. 28 balls was the longest he had ever spent in the middle as everyone was willing to take risks.
chase
Bangladesh’s opener had conceded only 13 runs in the previous five innings. Considering how important it is to get off to a good start in a big chase, they were already in a handicap. Tanzid Hasan, coming off consecutive ducks, finished with less than a ball to bowl. Litton Das did not survive the powerplay but was hit by a lovely slow ball from Hardik. Hardik also ensured a miss-hit caught in the deep by pulling an off-break outside the batting arc of the right-hand batsman. Midwicket.
Batting at 67 for 2 after 10 overs, the batting team had to put up more of a fight, but Bangladesh ran into Kuldeep Yadav and never recovered. Googly caught Tanzid unknowingly, 31 to 29. Legbreak had Towhid Hridoy lbw in a slog sweep. And finally, he did his job even when Shakib Al Hasan tried to hit him on the ground. A simple shift in the line slightly wider outside the off-stump messed up the left-handed batsman’s batting arc and forced him to cover.
In fact, Bangladesh attacked more balls than India in this match (49 to 48), but many of those were embarrassing swings. It shows that clarity is important in T20 cricket. Kuldeep denied it as they could not snatch the ball from his hands. Jasprit Bumrah also did his part, with 15 of his 24 deliveries yielding runs along with two wickets.
Alagappan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo.
