Ajinkya Rahane anchored his innings to perfection in the company of comeback-man Robin Uthappa and guided India to a comfortable seven-wicket victory in a rain-truncated first ODI against Bangladesh here on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 273 in 50 overs, India was cruising along at 100 for one in 16.4 overs when the heavens opened up leading to a nearly two-hour delay.
This lead to a revised target of 150 in 26 overs by D/L method, which India achieved with seven balls to spare.
The foundation was laid by Rahane, who scored 64 off 70 balls and shared a 99-run opening stand with Uthappa, who smashed a quickfire 50 off 44 balls.
The delay affected the momentum and there were umpiring howlers from Bangladesh umpire Enamul Haque Moni. Ambati Rayudu (16) and Suresh Raina (15) were at the crease when the winning run was achieved.
The decision that Uthappa got was a poor one as Shakib’s armer hit the bat first before hitting the pad. Nevertheless it was an impressive comeback for Uthappa in India colours after a break of six years. He seemed to carry his IPL form into international cricket, hitting three fours and as many sixes.
The best shot was the one when he reached to the pitch of a flighted delivery from Shakib Al Hasan to loft him effortlessly over extra cover. The other two were hit off left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak and medium pacer Ziaur Rahaman.
