Nerves were shredded, nails got chewed and throats turned hoarse as a rousing Wednesday night witnessed India effect a remarkable turnaround and snatch a one-run victory over Bangladesh in the ICC World Twenty20 Super 10 Group 2 match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here.
Pursuing India’s 146 for seven, Bangladesh needed 11 from the last over with four wickets in hand. Hardik Pandya conceded a single to Mahmudullah, suffered two fours at the hands of Mushfiqur Rahim and when it boiled down to two from three deliveries, M.S. Dhoni’s men set a miracle in motion, helped largely by the visitors’ desire to go for glory instead of a humble single or two.
Rahim and Mahmudullah perished to wild hoicks and a nervous Mustafizur Rahman was no match for a sprinting Dhoni, who knocked down the stumps to leave the batsman and Bangladesh stranded. The visitor finished with 145 for nine and crashed out of the tournament.
Riding on Tamim Iqbal’s (35, 32b, 5x4) impetus and Shakib Al Hasan’s brief but bludgeoning blade, Bangladesh threatened at different points before committing hara-kiri. Tamim helped Bangladesh tide over Mohammad Mithun’s dismissal in the third over after R. Ashwin tempted the batsman to clear the ropes where a leaping Pandya caught well.
Southpaw Tamim, who was a doubtful starter on match-eve, was evidently in his element. He pummelled a few, edged some and made it worse for Jasprit Bumrah, who had dropped him off Ashwin. Tamim pinched four fours off a Bumrah over and threatened to do more before he danced down and missed one from Ravindra Jadeja for Dhoni to whip off the bails with glee.
The Indian captain’s lightning hands were on show again as Sabbir Rahman’s cameo was curtailed. But, Bangladesh was never restrained as Shakib hit through the line. Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza, who promoted himself up the order, went without adding much but the required rate stayed within grasp until Ashwin, who had dropped Shakib (on eight) off Pandya, made amends and lured a snick.
At 95 for five, the contest was at its tipping-point but Soumya Sarkar and Mahmudullah kept alive Bangladesh’s flame. When a diving Dhoni grassed Sarkar off Bumrah, India was seemingly down for the count but it battled till the last, and the triumph was a just reward for its resilience.
Earlier, after Mortaza elected to field, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan added 42 for the first wicket, the best for India in recent times. Initially, the runs and dot-balls stayed even. The shackles were shed in the last over of the Power Play as Rohit hoisted left-arm seamer Mustafizur for six and Dhawan did an encore before both fell in quick succession.
Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina (30, 23b, 1x4, 2x6) then stitched together a 50-run third-wicket partnership across 40 deliveries.
Amidst turgid overs, Raina offered some hope. He nonchalantly flicked and smote sixes off Al-Amin and when Kohli carted Shuvagata over mid-wicket, it seemed India’s moderate run-rate graph may finally sprout some skyscrapers.
But, like it happened through the innings, a slump was around the corner.
Kohli, Raina, Pandya and Yuvraj Singh fell in succession and even with Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja trying their best, India missed the par-score of 160.
Thankfully, it proved adequate in the end — just.
