Jadhav braves injury to help India seal lastball thriller
Kedar bats despite hurting his hamstring to thwart Bangladesh’s valiant fightback
DUBAI: Kedar Jadhav took a winning single off the final delivery as India edged past a fighting Bangladesh by three wickets in a nail-biting Asia Cup final here on Friday, somehow dragging themselves past the line in a lowscoring affair.
Needing 18 runs off the last four overs, Ravindra Jadeja (23) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (21) fell after raising a crucial 45-run partnership that halted Bangladesh’s push for victory. Jadeja’s dismissal off Rubel Hossain brought back Jadhav, who had retired due to a cramp earlier. Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav were left to score six runs in the final over, and a crucial two runs by Kuldeep Yadav in the final over bowled by Mahmudullah left India needing two off two. A leg bye left Jadhav on strike and he broke Bangladesh hearts.
In last year’s ICC Champions Trophy final at the Oval, London, India were upstaged by Pakistan after skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl. Similar fears were raised after Rohit Sharma too chose to chase on the slow pitch.
DAS HITS A TON
Bangladesh opener Liton Das notched up his maiden ODI century as he struck 121, off 117 deliveries, and it appeared India had got it really wrong when he raised a 120-run partnership with makeshift choice Mehidy Hasan Miraz (32 – 59b). Liton’s innings was laced with 12 boundaries and a six.
However, India rallied to dismiss Bangladesh for 222 in 48.3 overs, which included three run outs.
However, India struggled to seal what should have been an easy chase. Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni were together after Rohit Sharma (48) was caught off paceman Rubel Hossain in the 17th over.
Shikhar Dhawan fell for 15, caught off left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam. Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza then produced an unplayable delivery to have No 3 Ambati Rayudu (2) caught behind.
Bangladesh were seen as a replacement side after their elimination of Pakistan, but they were determined to make things difficult for India. Jadeja produced a stunning effort to get the first of three run outs -- Rayudu and substitute Manish Pandey had a hand in the other two.
However, Murtaza’s side was guilty of throwing away their early advantage. Mushfiqur Rahim (5), whose century sank Pakistan, was caught at deep midwicket trying a needless slog and Mahmudullah (4), known for his orthodox batting, also fell in identical fashion. The second dismissal made it 151/5 in the 33rd over.
Chinaman bowler Kuldeep, who claimed three for 45, got Liton Das (121 – 117b, 12x4, 2x6) stumped while it was Kedar Jadhav who had ended the opening partnership by removing Mehidy Hasan, caught by Rayudu at cover. Jadhav took 2/41 in nine overs.