Saturday 21 / December / 2024
Gwalior: A clinical spell with the ball and a high-flying approach from the batters sealed a comfortable 7-wicket win for India in the opening T20I against Bangladesh on Sunday in Gwalior.
While chasing a paltry total of 128, the newly established opening duo of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma didn't waste a moment to establish an aggressive brand of cricket.
Shoriful Islam began the proceedings by mixing up his length, swinging the ball back into the batter and relying on the slower ones for the first three deliveries.
Samson opened the gateway to boundary fest with a sublime straight drive. With another drive on the final ball of the opening over to find the boundary rope, Samson perfectly set up the tempo of the chase.
The fusillade of boundaries continued in the next over with Abhishek tonking a six on the first delivery and then following it up with two fours. The barrage of boundaries momentarily halted after the southpaw fell well short of the crease and got run out for a score of 16(7).
Suryakumar Yadav and Samson continued the onslaught on Bangladesh bowlers forcing them to go on the backfoot. In the final over of the powerplay, the Indian skipper nonchalantly smoked the ball across the boundary rope, looking to make the most of the opportunity.
On the next delivery, Mustafizur Rahman's good length delivery was enough to seal Suryakumar's fate. The versatile batter went for a swipe, connected well but sent the ball straight to Jaker Ali at long leg. The Indian skipper's cameo concluded with a score of 29(14).
Bangladesh continued to fight back with Mehidy Hasan Miraz luring Samson to play a false shot and lose his wicket for a score of 29(19).
The all-round duo of Hardik Pandya and Nitish Reddy stayed till the end and saw off the chase with ease. With a no-look shot, Hardik left Taskin Ahmed speechless. He smashed another boundary on the next ball making it two in a row. He struck a six to finish it off in style and seal a clinical 7-wicket win for India with more than eight overs to spare.
Earlier in the match, after winning the toss, skipper Suryakumar Yadav decided to bowl on the black soil pitch that appeared to benefit both pacers and spinners.
Parvez Hossain Emon (8 runs from 9 balls, 1 six) and Litton Das (4 runs from 2 balls, 1 four) opened for Bangladesh and had a disappointing start to the game.
Arshdeep Singh got the first breakthrough of the game when he removed the Bangladesh batter in the first over. He was on fire during the powerplay as he dismissed Parvez Hossain in the seventh over.
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (27 runs from 25 balls, 1 four and 1 six) tried his best to help the visitors pose a comeback but Washington Sundar removed him from the crease in the 12th over.
The middle order batters of the visitors Towhid Hridoy (12 runs from 18 balls, 2 four), Mahmudullah (1 run from 2 balls) and Jaker Ali (8 runs from 6 balls, 1 six) displayed a sloppy performance while batting.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz (35* runs from 32 balls, 3 fours) was the only standout batter for Bangladesh, his unbeaten knock helped the visitors power to 127.
Arshdeep and Varun shined while bowling as they bagged three wickets in their respective spells. One of the main takeaways from the first inning was Mayank Yadav picking up his maiden international wicket of his career. The youngster removed Mahmudullah in the 8th over to take his first international wicket.
Hardik Pandya and Washington Sundar also took one wicket each in their respective spells.
Brief score: Bangladesh 127 (Mehidy Hasan Miraz 35*, Najmul Hossain Shanto 27, Towhid Hridoy 18; Arshdeep Singh 3/14) vs India 132/3 (Hardik Pandya 39*, Suryakumar Yadav 29; Mehidy Hasan Miraz 1-7).
