Asia Cup T20: Bangladesh v India - 5 Talking Points

India claimed victory in the opening match of the Asia Cup T20 2016 with a 45-run win over hosts Bangladesh. The Indians now have successfully stamped their authority on the tournament and will be favourites to go on and win the Asia Cup.

The Indian top order fell away with the Bangladeshi attack on fire. Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya survived the onslaught as they launched an all-out assault. Rohit Sharma in particular, was severe as he slammed 83 off just 55 deliveries. MS Dhoni underlined his credentials as a finisher with a massive six on the final delivery of the innings. The discipline of the Indian bowling came good as Ashish Nehra & Co. ripped through the Bangladesh order. Shabbir Rahman led a brief but unsuccessful revival with a fighting 44 runs. However, the discipline of the Indian side came to the fore as the Bangladesh innings closed at 121/7. Rohit Sharma was adjudged the man of the match.

1. Mashrafe Mortaza’s gambit:

The first move of the match was handed to the Bangladeshis. Mortaza won the toss and invited MS Dhoni and his men to bat first. The green top wicket came back to haunt the Indians. Al-Amin Hossain got the ball rolling as Shikhar Dhawan was cleaned up early on. Virat Kohli’s return to the Indian side was marked with some hostile bowling from Bangla pacers. He also was soon removed by Mashrafe Mortaza. Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh too got down in quick succession as the Indians found themselves in trouble at 97/4.

2. Rohit Consistent Sharma: 

Rohit Sharma played yet another mature innings and continued his green run of form. On a track where most of his mates tried to attack every ball and lost the wicket, he batted with patience, waited for the bad ball and the right opportunity and it did come. Once the conditions eased out, the early fire from the pacers was over, Rohit played his shots and looked unstoppable at one point. He also got to his 10th T20I fifty and by the time he got out on 83, India already had a winning total on the board.

3. Rohit-Pandya partnership, Dhoni’s perfect finish:

Hardik Pandya hasn’t quite had an opportunity with the bat long enough in his short career. The last time Pandya had a bat in the Indian jersey was in the 2nd T20I against Sri Lanka. He joined Rohit in the 14th over with sensible and cautious batting in the need of the hour. He took a couple of deliveries but soon put the Bangladesh attack to the sword. He struck 4 boundaries and a six and put up a 61-run partnership with Rohit who was also going all guns blazing at the other end. MS Dhoni’s reputation as a finisher is slowly diminishing. But the 34-year-old Indian skipper faced the final ball of the innings and deposited it into the stands and took the Indian total to 166.

4. Sabbir Rahman’s revival:

Sabbir Rahman made his way to the middle early on in the innings following the dismissal of Mithun. Rahman showcased his shot-making prowess as he successfully negotiated the Indian bowlers. He struck 44 off 32 deliveries, keeping the hosts in the hunt during his stay at the middle. But once he fell, it was just the matter of overs. He showed a lot of promise today and could well go on to become a key player for Bangladesh in the future fixtures of the tournament.

5. Nehra & Co. on the prowl:

The Indian bowling as many say has started to click at the right time. Ashish Nehra, the senior most of the Indian bowlers began the onslaught by removing Mohammad Mithun first. Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah stemmed the flow of runs as the pressure mounted. Pandya and Jadeja played their part in keeping things tight and not letting them off. Nehra returned and picked up the wickets of Mahmudullah and Mashrafe Mortaza back to back. The fall of the wickets ensured that the match was well and truly over. They all returned with identical figures 4 overs for 23 while Nehra had 3 Ashwin, Bumrah and Pandya got one each.

What did the two captains and the Man of the Match say? – It would have been good to win the toss: MS Dhoni