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Rohit Sharma, who is also the Man of the Match: “It was important for me to take some time initially before playing my shots. Washington’s spell was magical, hats off to him. It is not easy to bowl upfront with the new ball. Bangladesh bowled well in the death overs.”
Mahmudullah: “We needed a flying start but we lost a couple of wickets and didn’t get the momentum we needed. We wanted to take the pace off the ball in the last four overs but the bowlers didn’t execute it well.”
Rohit Sharma is adjudged the Man of the Match
Twitter heaps praise on Washington Sundar, who delivered yet another quality performance. The presentation will start in a few minutes.
India win by 17 runs A frustrated Mehdi Hasan goes for a long hop and Suresh Raina at long off takes a simple catch to end the faint hopes that Bangladesh had. But that was the lone bright spot in what was another forgettable game for Siraj, who followed that with a wide and was hammered for two boundaries by Mushfiqur. The first one was a clever dab to third man after shuffling to the leg stump. The second one was a powerfully struck drive that left long off no chance. Siraj ends the game with a slow ball, wide outside the off-stump. Mushfiqur tries to cut but misses. Yet again, the senior Bangladesh batsman gives a good account of himself with a classy unbeaten 72, but failed to get the support he needed. As Mushfiqur mentioned after the previous game, the lack of big-hitters in the middle order cost Bangladesh, once again.
At the end of Over 19: BAN 149/5 Shardul Thakur finally lands his stock delivery – the knuckle-ball to good effect. With a sweeper for protection in the deep and sticking to an outside off-stump line, the pacer gives just gives away five runs. The final delivery was a dot ball. 28 needed from the final over.
At the end of Over 18: BAN 144/5 Siraj continues to leak runs and Mushfiqur Rahim gets to his fifty, his second on the bounce. The former limited-overs captain drove over cover and then deployed a cute paddle sweep to run the ball to the fine-leg fence. The last ball of the over is a full toss, and Mushfiqur miscues a pull and it’s a simple return catch for Siraj. The umpire ask the batsman to wait to check if the ball was above the waist. No ball. Siraj had missed a simple run out opportunity too at his end while taking the return catch. Free hit – and that’s another boundary after Mehdi Hasan finds a thick edge. 16 from it. 33 needed from the last two.
At the end of Over 17: BAN 128/5 Sabbir gets a welcome boundary, pulling Thakur to cow cover but the Mumbai pacer gets his man, shattering the stumps. The ball was pitched short and a pull shot was on offer. Bangladesh get eight from it but have a mountain to climb.
Sabbir Rahman b Shardul Thakur 27 (23)
At the end of Over 16: BAN 120/4 Washington comes on for his final over. Once again, there is turn and guile from the young off-spinner. Mushfiqur simply can’t beat the infield and plays out three dot balls. He steps out in the final delivery, but the ball still doesn’t get to the boundary as Rahul cuts it off from long-off. Just four from the over and Washington finishes his spell with figures of 4-0-22-3. Stunning stuff.
Our thoughts exactly:
At the end of Over 15: BAN 116/4 Vijay Shankar starts proceedings with a slew of slow (read: very slow) balls. Siraj had a half-chance at fine leg but the ball, which was in the air for an age, died on him. Just seven from the over, under pressure. Vijay Shankar makes a fine end to his spell.
At the end of Over 14: BAN 109/4 Thakur is brought back after a horrendous first over but he is tidy here, varying his pace with good effect. The pacer was settling into an off-stump rhythm but didn’t allow any room for Mushfiqur and Sabbir to go for the big shots. Bangladesh need a couple of big overs to stay in the hunt.
At the end of Over 13: BAN 104/4 India get a much needed respite after leaking runs aplenty in the last three overs...scratch that. Five singles from the first five balls as the batsmen are once again forced to think from the back foot. The last ball is a short one from the leg-spinner, which disappears for a huge SIX from a venomous pull short.
At the end of Over 12: BAN 93/4 Mushfiqur has upped the ante and there are more runs on offer as he takes on Vijay Shankar, cutting him over a square for a four. Sabbir also joins in on the act with a swivel, pulling it beyond square-leg for another boundary. The batsmen steal a brace to end the over, which was another fruitful one for the Tigers, who are well in the chase at this stage.
At the end of Over 11: BAN 80/4 Siraj comes back on and there is a huge appeal for a caught behind but the umpire turns it down. There was a noise. Then, Mushfiqur shows his class with two timely back-to-back boundaries. The senior pro steps out to pull the ball to the mid-wicket fence. He followed that up with a delicate dab to the third man fence. Siraj is under further trouble as Mushfiqur steps out again, and deposited over the long-on fence for a SIX. Just the over Bangladesh needed.
At the end of Over 10: BAN 64/4 Shankar is once again at the top of the game with mixing it up. The Bangladeshis struggle to find gaps in the field and there was hardly any width on offer. Just three runs come off it and the required rate has just climbed over 11 runs an over.
At the end of Over 9: BAN 61/4 The boundaries have dried up and it takes a toll on Bangladesh once again. Mahmudullah’s pull shot doesn’t get the elevation and the ball goes straight to the palms of KL Rahul, who takes a safe catch at deep mid-wicket. Smart bowling from Chahal once again, building up pressure and forcing batsmen to take risks. Sabbir plays out two dot balls to end the over.
Mahmudullah c Rahul b Chahal 11 (8)
At the end of Over 8: BAN 57/3 Good start to Vijay Shankar as he nails it with a couple of full-length deliveries. The all-rounder also varied his pace well to give away just four singles from the over. The required run rate is climbing. 120 needed from 72 now.
At the end of Over 7: BAN 53/3 Chahal continues and more runs for Bangladesh, four of them as Mushfiqur latches on to the slightest bit of width that was offered. The leg-spinner made a solid comeback, earning four dot balls in a row as the batsman failed to read him from the hand. The deliveries had almost no pace on them. Single taken from the last ball.
At the end of Over 6: BAN 48/3 Oh, Sundar is not bad, is he? Tamim Iqbal shuffles across, looking for a big heave to long leg and misses it, the ball clips the leg stump and India are cruising as the danger man departs. Intelligent stuff from the young Indian spinner. However, he bowled a lose delivery to Mahmudullah first up, which is cut away for a four. The Bangladesh skipper then steps down the track and lofts the ball to the long on fence for another boundary.
Tamim Iqbal b Washington Sundar 27 (19)
At the end of Over 5: BAN 35/2At the end of Over 4: BAN 35/2At the end of Over 4: BAN 35/2 Chahal now comes on and the brakes are on. The Bangladeshis were in the back foot with the leg-spinner bring the ball back into the batsmen from a good length. Rohit Sharma saved a certain four from Mushfiqur’s blade. Just four from the over.
At the end of over 4: BAN 35/2 Another scalp for Washington Sundar and it’s a replica of the delivery he bowled to get rid of Liton Das. The ball spun back into the left-hander and Soumya Sarkar is cleaned up going for a heave over mid-wicket. Mushfiqur gets off the mark with a single to long-on.
Soumya Sarkar b Washington Sundar 1 (3)
BAN 31/1 in 3 Overs Tamim Iqbal is in fine form. Shardul Thakur is taken to the cleaners. First, the pacer gives him all the time in the world to free his arms outside off-stump and brings up back-to-back boundaries. Thakur follows that up with a short delivery on leg-stump and Iqbal hooks it for a SIX. A quicker knuckle-ball is then carted into the vacant spaces on the leg side and runs away to the boundary too. 19 from the over.
BAN 12/1 in 2 Overs Bangladesh get eight from the first over with Tamim Iqbal getting proceedings underway with a boundary. In the second over, India make a terrible call with a leg-before shout, opting for a review. The ball was pitching way outside off-stump. Liton Das’s stay doesn’t last long, though as he is beaten by Washington Sundar’s spin and and Dinesh Karthik gets his 50th stumping in Twenty20 cricket. This was after the right hander struck a handsome boundary, chipping the ball over cover.
OUT! Liton Das st Karthik b Washington Sundar 7 (7)
India finish at 176/3 in 20 overs Rubel bowls yet another tidy over and has been Bangladesh’s best bowler by a mile. It looked as though India would end up with a score close to the 190 mark but once again, the Bangladesh pacer bowled with great control and fired three yorkers, which made the Indian batsmen struggle. He also effected a run out from the last ball to end things off on a high. Don’t rule the Bangladeshis out.
OUT! Rohit Sharma run out 89 (61)
India 172/2 in 19.2 Overs OUT! This time, Raina mis-times a full toss and the ball goes straight to the hands of deep mid-wicket, who takes a neat catch close to the boundary rope. S Raina c Sarkar b Rubel Hossain 47 (30)
A new landmark for Rohit:
End of over 19: IND 172/1 More poor bowling and it gets the treatment. Mustafizur gifts the Indian captain with full tosses and it is deposited to the fence for back-to-back fours. First one was a wide off-side slog from Rohit, which went over the infield and the second one was a gorgeous dab, which was steered beyond the reach of short third-man. 11 from the over.
End of over 18: IND 161/1 Abu Hider also goes for many as Rohit pulls him over the fence, many a mile and easily clearing the stands for a SIX. Raina brings up the second SIX of the over a pull shot of his own, clubbing it over deep-square for a flat-ish maximum. Hider is taken for more runs as Rohit jumps onto a full toss with utmost glee and knocks it over the fence for another SIX. In the midst of all this, Hider bowled an excellent yorker to Rohit.
End of over 17: IND 140/1 Raina is toying with the bowlers and is scoring runs by moving back and across – he is looking for a heave over mid-wicket. Raina got a four to kick things off in the over. Mustafizur usually disguised slow deliveries are taking a beating as Rohit sweeps him behind square for another SIX. Runs are coming thick and fast and India now look as though they can touch the 180-run mark.
End of over 16: IND 126/1 Raina continues to swing his way out of trouble and here he was, once again, clubbing Mahmudullah over deep mid-square leg for a four. Raina’s attacking instincts seemed to have rubbed off on Rohit too, who is also using his feet regularly. The Indian captain keeps strike with a single.
End of over 15: IND 117/1 Rubel Hossian is not pleased at a tame effort from Mustafizur after a top edge from Raina goes high in the air and dies on the pitch. The young pacer goes around the ball, letting it run for a four. Just when it looked like a economical over, Rubel is taken apart as his full toss is lofted over mid-on for a four. Two to end the over.
End of over 14: IND 104/1 Raina had a scratchy start and the left-hander put that to bed by slogging a harmless delivery pitched on middle stump to the deep mid-wicket stands for a massive SIX. He then stepped out and through a golf club swing, got the ball to race to the fence back past the bowler’s head. Just the over India needed after going through a bit of a slump in the last few overs.
End of over 13: IND 93/1 Finally, Rohit Sharma is back to his free-flowing best: A full delivery from Hider is swept behind square for a four. He follows that up by stepping out and cutting a slow and wide delivery for a single. That brings up his fifty. Sharma and Raina pick up singles in the last two balls of the over.
End of over 12: IND 84/1 Mustafizur makes a fine comeback in the over, varying his pace and not letting the batsmen any room. Just four singles come from it as Bangladesh seem to have put the brakes on the scoring rate.
End of over 11: IND 80/1 Nazmul gifts Raina a full toss but the batsman failed to latch onto that one. Rohit Sharma shows how it’s done by using his feet to come down the track and heaving the ball many a mile into the deep square-leg stands, SIX. Little turn on offer here.
Okay, then...
End of over 10: IND 71/1 Rubel comes on as the Tigers search for a wicket. Rohit and Dhawan continue to throw their bat at deliveries but the pacer maintains discipline, not allowing the batsmen any width. Raina almost paddled the ball straight to the hands of the fine leg fielder. Just a single.
OUT! It results in a wicket too as Rubel cleans up Dhawan’s middle stump with a fine yorker. S Dhawan b Rubel Hossain 35 (27)
End of over 9: IND 67/0 Nazmul is brought on for his third over. Some defensive work by Bangladesh as the left-armer resorts to rushing the batsmen from a good length. It stemmed the flow of runs as Rohit and Dhawan only managed to get four singles from the over.
End of over 8: IND 63/0 Mehdi is looking off colour today and Dhawan once again shows how good he is on the leg-side, effortlessly flicking the off-spinner for a boundary to long leg. Mehdi, though, made a decent comeback after dragging his length further up but the Indians still managed to rotate the strike with minimum fuss. Nine from it.
End of over 7: IND 54/0 Another drop catch. Dhawan miscued a slog after stepping down the track but Liton Das made a mess of it at deep-square, missing the catch and touching the ropes when the fielder hit the floor. It was a good over by Nazmul otherwise, getting the better of Dhawan, who was using his feet at will. There was a leg-before shout too after the left-hander missed a sweep shot. Just five from the over.
End of over 6: IND 49/0 Hider is back for his second and unfortunately, a fine delivery from him leaks a four from the first ball, helping Rohit to get his highest score of the series. Bangladesh are a little bit ragged now and Indians are making them pay. Full and pitched on off stump and Dhawan would take you the cleaners all day – that’s exactly what the Indian vice-captain did in the final ball of the over. That makes it 22 from the last two overs.
End of over 5: IND 38/0 Mehdi Hasan is the fifth bowler that Bangladesh have used. As an antidote to Mustafizur, the off-spinner starts off by darting balls into the batsmen. Hasan then tries a classical off-spin delivery, which ended up being easy pickings for Rohit, sweeping the ball many a mile into the deep mid-wicket stands for a SIX. Rohit also squeezes a three from the final ball of the over after digging out a full delivery aimed on off stump. 11 from the over.
End of over 4: IND 27/0 Four overs up and Bangladesh have used as many bowlers. Solid start from Mustafizur he continues to show that he is a good exponent of letting the ball slide into the batsman from good length. There is little that the batsman can do as they take just three singles from the first five. Dhawan then pours cold water on what was turning out to be a fine over, SIX. The southpaw steps out, reads the slower one, and carted the ball over the sightscreen.
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End of over 3: IND 18/0 Rubel has also realised that Rohit is struggling with deliveries coming back into him from length. The Indian captain gets off strike by getting on top of the bounce and running it down to third man. Dhawan continues to be confident with his strokemaking and gets a single of the fourth ball with a straight drive. Dropped! Difficult attempt as Rohit continues to try to loft his way out of trouble. It went many a mile but Abu Hider’s massive dive didn’t get him the reward he wanted after he dived full length, running backwards. In trademark style, Dhawan cuts a wide outside off-stump delivery for a four.
End of over 2: IND 11/0 Rohit finally breaks the shackles by slotting the ball past mid-on with a lazy flick, it goes to the boundary. Spinner Nazmul struggled with his length throughout the over and an in-form batsman could have taken him to the cleaners. There were atleast three balls that were short and wide. Dhawan once again faces the last ball over the over, and he paddles a wayward delivery down the leg side for a four, leaving short-fine no chance. India getting a move on.
Some suggestions from the good folks on Twitter
End of over 1: IND 2/0 Once again, Rohit Sharma is living dangerously. Hider teases the Indian captain off good length twice in the over with deliveries that came back into the batsman. The first delivery rapped him on the pads and looked like a very close leg-before shout. Between all this, a circumspect Rohit threw his bat at a wide delivery outside off stump. He finally catches a break with a quick single following a nudge to the off-side. Dhawan plays out the last ball for a dot. Solid start for Bangladesh.
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan make their way to the crease. Abu Hider to open the bowling.
Toss: Bangladesh win the toss and elect to bowl first. Rohit says he has been “lackluster” during the tournament. Mohammad Siraj comes into the side in place of Jaydev Unadkat. Abu Hider comes in for Taskin Ahmed.
Hello and welcome to the live blog of the Nidahas Trophy match between India and Bangladesh at Colombo. India are not facing the same team that succumbed to a tame defeat last week. The Tigers chased down 214 against the Lankans, prompting Mahmudullah to announce that they want to bring in “their brand of cricket” to Twenty20 Internationals, a format they continue to struggle in.
On the other hands, the back pages are flush with scrutiny over Rohit Sharma’s recent run of form. Usually merciless against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the Indian captain has struggled to get going in the three games so far. As Rohit Sharma announced at the end of the last game, there are unlikely to be any changes from the last game. Bangladesh are also expected to retain their winning combination.