India and Bangladesh engaged in a nail biting affair at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday as the Men In Blue edged their opponent by five runs to strengthen their contention for the semifinal at the T20 World Cup. India, who were invited to bat first by Shakib Al Hasan, got off to a slow start losing skipper Rohit Sharma cheaply for 2.
However, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli steadied things down as both slammed respective half-centuries, riding on which India piled a staggering 184/6 on the board in 20 overs. Bangladesh, in response, gave India a tough fight with Litton Das leading the 185-run chase. The batter went to slam a 21-ball half-century, providing his side with the early momentum, before the contest saw a rain interruption.
The action eventually resumed with Bangladesh being handed a revised target of 151 in 16 overs. However, following the break Bangladesh lost the momentum and kept losing wickets in a hurry and could only muster 145/6 in 16 overs.
Sunil Gavaskar, who is one of the commentator for the World Cup, felt it was Bangladesh who lost the contest, rather India winning. Speaking to India Today from Adelaide where he was asked if the rain break played a significant role in the outcome, the ex-cricketer noted: “Oh absolutely, at that particular point in time, they were 66 in seven overs, so we are taking about more than nine runs per over and they were scoring quite comfortably with 10 wickets in hand. And suddenly, when the target was reduced by almost 33 runs, they somehow seemed to have panicked. The asking rate was still the same as when they began their innings.”
“Instead of playing smart cricket, they tried to hit a six just about every ball, trying to target the short square boundaries. The Indians bowled cleverly, just out of the arc of the big shots. Hence, the shots, which otherwise would have gone for sixes were caught at long on and deep mid-wicket,” he added.
“I would say Bangladesh lost the game rather than India winning the game. Yes, India kept their nerves, but it was Bangladesh’s batting where they panicked and tried to play too many glory shots. If they had played smart cricket, worked the ball around for twos, they would have got 10 runs an over and that’s all that they needed,” he concluded.
With the win, India climbed to the top of Group 2 points table as they now have six points from four matches. They will next lock horns with Zimbabwe, which will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.