Picture Credit: Twitter
Although the
India-Bangladesh clash in the T20 World Cup 2022 on Wednesday was not expected
to be a close one, it turned out to be a thriller in the end. Thanks to the
spirited Bangladesh batters, who came quite close to sealing a famous victory,
but fell short by five runs.
Batting first,
the Indian captain Rohit Sharma got out cheaply for 2, but KL Rahul came back
to form at the right time, as he slammed 50 off 32 balls to provide momentum to
the Indian team.
Virat Kohli
continued to play a second fiddle to Suryakumar Yadav, who jumped on the
bandwagon and hit 30 off 16 balls. In the end, Kohli remained unbeaten on 64
off 44, while Ravichandran Ashwin finished well to propel India to a strong
total of 184.
In reply,
Bangladesh got off to a rocking start with the talented Litton Das smacking
balls all over the park, which resulted in a terrific powerplay for the Tigers.
With Bangladesh at 66/0 in seven overs, the rain interruption paused the match
proceedings. During the break, the Shakib Al Hasan-led side were ahead by 17 runs
as per the DLS method.
Nevertheless,
the rain stopped and Bangladesh were set a new target of 151 in 16 overs. The momentum shifted to India’s side after the match resumed, as Rahul fired in a terrific throw
to run-out Das for 60 off 27.
The rest of
the batting lineup fell in quick succession, as Hardik Pandya took two wickets
in a single over. However, the pair of Taskin Ahmed and Nurul Hasan kept
Bangladesh in contention with their aggressive intent.
With 20
runs needed off six balls, Hasan slammed a six and a four on the second and
fourth ball, while putting pressure on Arshdeep Singh. However, the pacer kept
his nerves to seal the game for the team.
After the victory,
the Indian fans mocked the Bangladesh team by copying the latter’s ‘Naagin
Dance’, which is famous due to their players. The dance became popular in the
Asia Cup 2018, which Bangladesh used to mock Sri Lanka after defeating them.
Watch the
video:
This result had a huge significance as India almost booked their semis spot in the T20 World Cup. Bangladesh, on the other hand, have to win against Pakistan to have an outside chance of a semi-final spot.