Opting to bat, India’s openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul provided their side a solid foundation. The duo shared a brilliant partnership of 180 before Rohit was dismissed by Soumya Sarkar. By then, Rohit had brought up his fourth hundred in the 2019 World Cup, going to the top of the run-getters chart.
Rahul too fell shortly after, caught behind off Rubel Hossain for 77. Skipper Virat Kohli, along with Rishabh Pant, added a steady 42 runs before Mustafizur Rahman struck twice in the 39th over. He first sent back Kohli and then accounted for Hardik Pandya for nought.
Pant’s 41-ball 48 and MS Dhoni’s 33-ball 35 lifted India to a competitive total of 314/9. Rahman was Bangladesh’s star bowler, finishing with figures of 5/59, pulling things back when it looked like India were set for a lot more.
None of Bangladesh’s batsmen could build on starts. The openers began with caution, and while 40 came in the first 10 overs, they also lost the crucial wicket of Tamim Iqbal in the final over of the Powerplay.
Shakib Al Hasan brought up his sixth half-century of the tournament, but found little support from the rest of the batsmen. When he fell to Pandya, the sixth wicket to fall for Bangladesh at 179, it was a blow to his side’s hopes, but Saifuddin and Sabbir Rahman refused to give up without a fight.
It took Jasprit Bumrah’s genius at the death to deny them. An off-cutter got rid of Sabbir, while the tail had no answer to his yorkers. Saifuddin had his fifty, but was left stranded on 51* off 38 balls.
/icc-cricket.com
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