Shabby fielding display
Bangladesh’s fielding was not at all up to the mark after skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza won the toss and decided to bowl first under overcast conditions. Among all the misses however, the dropped catch of Rohit Sharma on 21 proved to be extremely costly as the Indian opening batsman added a further 62 runs to steer his side to a challenging total. Shakib al Hasan was the culprit while Taskin Ahmed was the unlucky bowler on that occasion.
Rohit sizzles again
Rohit turned out to be Bangladesh’s nemesis in the World Cup quarter-final clash between the two sides last year and the right-hander yet again made merry yesterday against the Tigers bowlers. Following a reprieve on 21, Rohit took the opportunity with both hands, blazing his way to a fine 55-ball 83, featuring seven fours and three sixes.
Death overs cost Tigers
The Bangladesh bowlers kept a lid on proceedings right till the 15th over when India were struggling on 97/4. India though shifted their gear from thereon in, blasting 69 runs in the last five overs. Rohit, alongside Hardik Pandya, hammered the opposition bowling attack to all corners of the stadium. In the context of the game, the last five overs of the Indian innings is where Bangladesh probably lost the momentum, and with it, the game.
Abject batting show
In pursuit of 167, Bangladesh never looked settled and kept losing wickets in clusters. The untried and untested opening wicket pair of Soumya Sarkar and Mohammad Mithun failed to deliver and apart from Sabbir Rahman, who made a 32-ball 44, none of the other batsmen crossed 16.
