India’s collective will, experience and their ability to hold their nerve stood them in excellent stead in a rain-hit T20 World Cup Super 12 game against Bangladesh on Wednesday. Having tided over an arduous early period on being put in when the ball jagged around generously and Taskin Ahmed made capital with a brilliant, unchanged spell of 4-0-15-0, India’s 184 for six was made to look miniscule when Litton Das got into the chasing act.
The Bangladesh opener raced to his 50 off just 21 deliveries, powering his team to 66 without loss in seven overs, when the skies opened up. When the players returned after 52 minutes, Bangladesh’s revised target was 151 in 16 overs, and that’s when the drama began.
Litton’s wicket crucial
Litton’s dismissal, run out by a brilliant direct hit from the deep by KL Rahul off the second delivery on resumption, set the cat among the pigeons. India were all over their opponents like a bad rash, double-wicket overs from Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh setting them on their way to a five-run via the DLS method as Bangladesh were restricted to 145 for six.
An entertaining second game of the evening at the Adelaide Oval witnessed sparkling strokeplay from Rahul and Virat Kohli, who both made crisp half-centuries, and from Suryakumar Yadav, whose middle name might as well be ‘fearless’. But they were all put to shade by Litton, who made the most of the loss of swing after the first couple of overs with a stunning onslaught on the Indian quicks. Charging the bowlers or staying deep and playing the pull to great effect, he rattled the Indians with his power-packed ball-striking. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep all seemed powerless until the rains intervened and threw India a lifeline.
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Rahul’s pinpoint throw from deep mid-wicket to catch Litton short of his ground was just the impetus India needed as they stormed back into contention, bowling tight overs and finding great support in the field, where every skier was snaffled without a fuss
Arshdeep does well
The other bowlers combined to leave Arshdeep with 20 to defend in the final over and though he conceded a six and a four to Nurul Hasan, he did what was required of him. As had Rahul earlier in the evening when he shed a lean trot with tremendous authority. Becalmed at the start of his innings, he unleashed the big strokes once he had the measure of the conditions, dominating a second-wicket stand of 67 with Kohli on his way to a 30-ball 50. Kohli also played second fiddle to Suryakumar, after whose dismissal he changed gears and skipped to his third fifty in four innings this tournament, along the way supplanting Mahela Jayawardene as the leading run-scorer in T20 World Cups.
Brief scores
India 184-6 in 20 overs (V Kohli 64*, KL Rahul 50, S Yadav 30; H Mahmud 3-47, S Hasan 2-33) beat Bangladesh 145-6 in 16 overs (L Das 60; H Pandya 2-28, A Singh 2-38) by five runs (D/L method)
