India edge Bangladesh by one run to stay alive
It was a piece of inspirational act by skipper MS Dhoni, who took his right gloves off when Hardik Pandya came in to bowl the last delivery with two runs required
BENGALURU: India survived a mighty scare before pulling off an incredible 1-run victory over Bangladesh in a nerve-wracking low-scoring thriller to keep their semi-final hopes alive in the ICC World T20, here on Wednesday.
Defending a modest 146, India looked down and out for the better part of the match before pulling their acts together in the final two overs to restrict Bangladesh to 145 for 9.
It was a piece of inspirational act by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who took his right gloves off when Hardik Pandya came in to bowl the last delivery with two runs required.
Pandya bowled a fuller delivery wide off Shuvagato Hom who missed it and Dhoni caught it with only his inners on.
As Mustafizur started sprinting from the other end, the 34 plus Indian skipper beat his younger opponent in a short sprint to whip off the bails to lead to an unbelievable finish as the entire Chinnaswamy Stadium erupted in joy.
It was a perfect Holi gift for the fans by the Indian team, who now have four points and are up in the second position in the table with a match left. R. Sharma c Rahman b Rahman S. Dhawan lbw Shakib Al Hasan V. Kohli b Shuvagata Hom S. Raina c S. Rahman b Al Amin H. Pandya c S. Sarkar b Al Amin M.S. Dhoni (not out) Yuvraj c Al Amin b Mahmudullah R. Jadeja b Mustafizur Rahman R. Ashwin (not out) Extras (lb-2, w-1) Total (7 wkts, 20 overs) Did not bat: A. Nehra, J. Bumrah Fall of wickets: 1-42, 2-45, 3-95, 4-112, 18 23 24 30 15 13 3 12 5 3 146
Credit should also be given to Jasprit Bumrah, who bowled six magnificent deliveries in the penultimate over when Bangladesh needed only 17 off 12 balls.
When Hardik Pandya (2/29) was handed the ball, pacers Ashish Nehra, Bumrah, and spinners Ravindra Jadeja (2/22) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/20 in 4 overs) had already finished their quota and Dhoni was hardpressed to choose his options.
The dangerous Mahmudullah got one off Pandya’s first delivery and Mushfiqur Rahim smacked the next through covers for a boundary bring the equation down to 6 from four balls.
To everyone’s horror Rahim then played half scoop off the next ball on the pads which was just out of Dhoni’s reach as equation became 2 off 3 balls.
Off the next ball, Rahim mistimed a pull shot to get out as it became 2 off 2 balls.
With Mahmudullah on strike, he mistimed a pull off another full toss which was pouched brilliantly by India’s beat fielder Jadeja.
With 1 needed for tie and 2 to win, it was the inspirational Dhoni, who brought smiles with his daredevilry and innovative think- 5-112, 6-117, 7-137. Bowling: Mashrafe Mortaza 4-0-22-0 (w-1); Shuvagata Hom 3-0-24-1; Al Amin Hossain 4-0-37-2; Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-34-2; Shakib Al Hasan 4-0-23-1; Mahmudullah 1-0-4-1. Tamim Iqbal st Dhoni b Jadeja M. Mithun c Pandya b Ashwin Sabbir Rahman st Dhoni b Raina Shakib Al Hasan c Raina b Ashwin Mashrafe Mortaza b Jadeja Mahmudullah c Jadeja b Pandya 35
1 26 22 6 18 ing. Ashwin was brought into the attack in the third over and he got Mithun Ali (1) with third delivery.
The batsmen jumped out at a delivery that was dropped short but did not get the required power or elevation to clear Hardik Pandya at long-on. Jasprit Bumrah was smashed for 16 runs as if to add insult to the injury.
It was a shooter from Ravindra Jadeja that kept low as Tamim (35, 32 balls) gave the charge to miss it with Dhoni completing the easiest of stumpings.
Shakib (22, 2×6), who hit a six each off Pandya and Jadeja as Indian fielders looked tense. Ashwin made amends for a dropped catch with a nice drifter of a delivery that spun enough to take edge as Raina took a simple catch.
Earlier, India’s much vaunted batting line-up struggled on a slow and sluggish track as they just about managed an unimpressive 146 for 7 against a disciplined Bangladesh attack after being put into bat.
Suresh Raina (30 off 23 balls) with a boundary and two sixes was the top-scorer but the contribution was not enough looking at the total posted by the hosts.
Shikhar Dhawan (23), Virat Kohli (24) spent considerable time at the wicket but could never force the pace.
Hardik Pandya (15) was showing positive signs before a Soumya Sarkar stunner in the deep ended what could have been an impactful innings.
Yuvraj Singh (3) failed to gauge the pace of the wicket while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (13 no off 12 balls) concentrated on the singles and doubles. Soumya Sarkar c Kohli b Nehra M. Rahim c Dhawan b Pandya Shuvagata Hom (not out) Mustafizur Rahman run out Extras (lb-4, w-1) Total (9 wkts; 20 overs) Did not bat: Al Amin Hossain Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-55, 3-69, 4-87, 5-95, 6-126, 7-145, 8-145, 9-145. Bowling: A. Nehra 4-0-29-1; J. Bumrah 4-0-32-0; R. Ashwin 4-0-20-2; R. Jadeja 4-0-22-2; H. Pandya 3-0-29-2; S. Raina 1-0-9-1 (w-1). Man of the match: R. Ashwin 21 11 0 0 5 145