Asia Cup 2023, 12th Match
Bangladesh VS India Played at Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Sri Lanka on 15 September 2023
Bangladesh 265/8 (Shakib Al Hasan 80, Towhid Hridoy 54, Nasum Ahmed 44, Mahedi Hasan 29*, Tanzim Hasan Shakib 14*, Shardul Thakur 3/65, Mohammad Shami 2/32, Axar Patel 1/47, Prasidh Krishna 1/43, Ravindra Jadeja 1/53)
India 259 All Out in 49.5 Overs (Shubman Gill 121, Axar Patel 42, Suryakumar Yadav 26 < Mustafizur Rahman 3/50, Tanzim Hasan Tamim 2/32, Mahedi Hasan 2/50, Mehedy Hasan Miraz 1/29, Shakib Al Hasan 1/43)
Bangladesh Won by 6 Runs
Player of the Match: Shakib Al Hasan
In a dead rubber Bangladesh bouncing back like wounded tigers earned a highly satisfying 6 runs victory and that too against formidable India. There is a saying that it is better than never. Such a win at last can make tiger fans forget much of the shocks and pains those they got from Bangladesh not delivering to their full potential in earlier matches. Appearing with as many as 5 changes Bangladesh proved that if played with a mission a team can earn its objectives even against arguably the best team of the tournament.
In a match to redeem themselves Bangladesh applied their resources in producing a competitive score of 265/8 with performance coming from top to the tail. Bangladesh bowlers then successfully defended the target making India all out for 259 with a ball to spare. India got a rude awakening before they appear in the final against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Losing the toss and put into bat Bangladesh started poorly. Bangladesh tried with a new opening combination with young Tanzid Hasan Tamim given responsibility with out of form Litton K Das. Litton fell for a dreaded duck to Shami, Tamim junior played few eye-catching drives. He too fell to Shardul Thakur . Experienced Anamul Haq Bijoy given another opportunity could not do justice to his name. Losing 3 for 29 and then 4/59 Bangladesh innings was in disarray.
Flamboyant Shakib Al Hasan and talented Towhid Hridoy then stitched up a brilliant partnership of 101. Both made planned counter attacks of the Indian spinners and rotated the strikes. Shakib scored 80 in 85 deliveries with 6 exquisite fours and 3 three glorious sixes. Hridoy scored 54 in 81 deliveries. But two more wickets in quick succession reduced Bangladesh to 161/6. But unlike as usual the tail this time for a pleasant change wagged. Nasum Ahmed (44), Mahedi Hasan (29*) and Tanjim Shakib (14*) made useful contributions as Bangladesh rallied to a challenging score of 265/8 in allotted overs. India rested Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Seraj, Kuldeep Yadav, and Hardik Pandya. Still with Mohammad Shami, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja they had formidable attack. It was a real moral boosting batting performance. One wondered why this did not happen in earlier matches.
Bangladesh mission got a huge boost when debutant Tajim Hasan Shakib struck two mighty blows rocking Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma very early. Indian batting without Kohli and Hardik was forced back to the wall. Still Shubman Gill stood as the rock of Gibraltar and alone produced an excellent innings of 121. Bangladesh bowlers bowling as a team and fielders supporting them made India struggle for runs. Only Axar Patel (42) and Suryakumar Yadav (21) other than Gill could produce innings of some substance. Mustafizur Rahman (3/50), Mahedi Hasan (2/50) and Tanzim Shakib (2/32) did the damage for Bangladesh.
While this win earned some pride for Bangladesh answering few of the several questions raised about Bangladesh mission, it served as a wake-up call for India. Without Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav Indian attack looked ragged in the closing overs. The win will definitely serve as a tonic for Bangladesh in its World Cup mission.
BDST: 1327 HRS, SEP 16, 2023
SMS
