A supremely assertive India on Tuesday humiliated Bangladesh by 240 runs to gear up for the ICC Champions Trophy in an emphatic fashion and sound a warning to Pakistan.
Playing in its second warm-up match, the defending champion made short work of its sub-continental neighbour by bowling it out for 84 in 23.5 overs at the Oval after piling up a commanding 324 for seven.
A hostile opening spell from Umesh Yadav (three for 16) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (three for 13) reduced Bangladesh to 22 for six in only the eighth over.
Earlier, Dinesh Karthik made a strong case for a middle-order slot with a stylish 94 (77b, 8x4, 1x6), while Shikhar Dhawan (60, 67 balls 7x4) got runs under his belt against a quality attack comprising Mustafizur Rahaman, Rubel Hossain and Taskin Ahmed.
Pandya explodes
Hardik Pandya showed his utility as an all-rounder with an aggressive, unbeaten 80 off 54 balls, that was laced with six boundaries and four huge sixes in the arc between mid-wicket and long-on.
Skipper Virat Kohli and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not bat, giving others an opportunity to get a good hit before the big-ticket Pakistan game.
With Yuvraj Singh not coming out to bat, indicating that he is yet to get fit, Karthik, after his failure against New Zealand, grabbed the second opportunity.
Karthik showed good composure during his innings played under mostly overcast conditions. His first boundary was a cut shot off Taskin followed by a superb straight drive off Mustafizur.
He was severe on off-spinner Mossadek Hossain and left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam, cutting and pulling anything that was short.
Karthik added 100 runs with Dhawan for the third wicket after Rohit Sharma (1) and Ajinkya Rahane’s (11) lack of footwork saw them getting played on.
Kedar Jadhav (31) also got some batting time while Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with an useful knock of 32.
The scores:
India 324 for seven in 50 overs (Dinesh Karthik 94 retd. out, Hardik Pandya 80 n.o., Shikhar Dhawan 60, Ravindra Jadeja 32, Kedar Jadhav 31; Rubel Hossain three for 50) bt Bangladesh 84 in 23.5 overs (Bhuvneshwar Kumar three for 13, Umesh Yadav three for 16) .
