Bangladesh 146 for 8 (Shanto 40, Kuldeep 3-19, Bumrah 2-13) lost to India 196 for 5 (Hardik 50*, Tanzim 2-32) by 50 runs.

With a strong chance of advancing to the T20 World Cup 2024 semifinals, India’s team could wake up on Sunday to this exciting news. Their impressive performance against Bangladesh in Antigua, scoring 196 runs on a slow surface, has put them in a favorable position. A win against Afghanistan will secure their spot in the final four, alongside Australia.

The first puzzle

Although their partnership has helped India win numerous matches, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have yet to gell at this T20 World Cup. Even as they were sprinting between the wickets, Rohit was momentarily perplexed whether a single had been placed on to midwicket’s right. They had a stop-start run, but eventually, they won. India can stack its middle order with six hitters when they are paired at the top of the order, so the squad will be hoping for the same outcome as the tournament progresses. They are posting par-plus totals in challenging conditions thanks to that advantage.

Bangladesh’s promising area

Tanzim Hasan made every effort to thwart that scheme. He was the best bowler for Bangladesh and got that reputation by performing the one thing that all big hitters detest. He was erratic. Although Kohli charged towards him, he gave the batter a speed change and sent him packing.

After hitting a six off the first ball, Suryakumar Yadav was overpowered by extra bounce on the subsequent delivery. Slower balls from Tanzim grabbed and misbehaved off the field. In order to get variance in bounce, he also made sure to smash the pitch hard when he was moving at a fast speed.

The strike back from India

It was Rishabh Pant who ignited the fire. India lost nine balls without a boundary after moving from 71 for 1 to 77 for 3. In favorable batting circumstances, that may be the cost you incur. It was not a terrific batting situation. Both the outfield and the pitch were slow.

They had to make up the difference before the deathovers. Pant, twelve off fifteen, exploded with life, fully conscious of that. Normally, a left-hander’s cover drive is breathtaking, but Mustafizur’s had to endure something different. It was power reduced to its most basic form. It was chilly. Pant hit five boundaries in eight balls before faltering in his quest for one more.

The standout

It is no longer possible to deny Rishad Hossain. He arrived at this T20 World Cup as Bangladesh’s most exciting cricketer; even though the rest of the world made it clear they were game-changers, having to wait because the culture there does not value wrist spinners. Bangladesh’s greatest play of the match—2.4 overs of singles and dots between the 12th and the 15th—was assured by his dismissal of Pant.

In addition, he claimed two wickets off of batters who were trying to hit him. Pant evaded the reverse sweep, while Dube bowled a crop and a neck. He could have given up several runs, but he never turned around. Not even when he was required to bowl one of the death over.

The 50-centurion

India was released from their second lull by Hardik. At the beginning of the fifteenth over, they were 120 for 4. He was six of seven. After that, Mahedi Hasan gave him a long hop that let him to extend his arms as a gift freely, and that was that. His amazing strength in his forearms and core accounts for a large portion of his power game. He can even hit Yorkers for boundaries because of this. Because of this, he only sometimes needs to take a complete swing at the bat.

Because of this, he ought to be more daring than he now allows himself to be. He entered the field only in the twelfth over and had faced just eighteen deliveries by the eighteenth, but his ability to reach the boundary—four of the last two overs’ total came off his bat—allowed him to score fifty runs. This was an innings that India could never have imagined. The numbers supported that as well.

They had only made more than 196 on Saturday, with none of their top five batsmen getting a fifty, once in their entire T20I history. Usually, freight trains move slowly at first but gain speed over time. They are discovering who they are again in this World Cup. Four of the seven batters that faced the ball scored at a strike rate of 150 mph or higher. Everyone was looking to take chances, so the longest anyone stayed in the middle was twenty-eight balls.

The pursuit

The opening combination for Bangladesh had managed just 13 runs in the previous five innings. They were already handicapped, given the importance of getting off to a strong start in a large chase. After two consecutive ducks, Tanzid Hasan finished with fewer than a run per ball.

Hardik’s beautiful slower ball proved to be the undoing of Litton Das, who was dismissed during the powerplay. Hardik also ensured that the off-break was dragged beyond the striking arc of the right-hand batsman, resulting in a mishit that was caught at deep midwicket.

After 10 overs, with the score at 67 for 2, the batting squad ought to have fought harder, but Kuldeep Yadav got to them and they could never recover. Tanzid was unprepared for the googly’s 29 off 31. Towhid Hridoy was LBW on the slog sweep after being legbroken.

Finally, when Shakib Al Hasan attempted to hit him off balance, he was likewise capable of handling the situation. By just shifting the line slightly beyond the off stump, the left-hand batter’s striking arc was disrupted, resulting in his being caught at cover.

In this match, Bangladesh really attacked 49 balls compared to 48 for India, although many of those were frantic swings. It highlights how important clarity is in Twenty20 cricket. They could not remove the ball from Kuldeep’s grasp, thus he rejected their claim. Jasprit Bumrah also contributed, taking two wickets and producing dots from 15 of his 24 deliveries.

Author: Tania Mukherjee

Tania Mukherjee is an author. Immersing herself in the world of Entertainment and expressing her thoughts along with her feelings through the power of the written word. With a deep passion for writing, she finds solace and fulfillment in conveying her ideas to others.