CT 2017, Bangladesh v India, 2nd Semifinal, Review: Rohit, Kohli take India to a storming win over Bangladesh

The stage was set for the all-important second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. The defending champions India were up against the first-timers Bangladesh at the big stage. Coming in to the game, both teams had contrasting run of form. Team India started off on a high with a win over Pakistan, saw a shock defeat against Sri Lanka, and then thumped South Africa to make it to the semis. On the other hand, team Bangladesh had only one win to their name in the league stages, albeit a historic one.

Talking about the game, it was the Indian skipper Virat Kohli who won the toss and had no hesitation in fielding first. This is exactly what he had done in the previous game. Kohli stuck with the winning combination in the match and so did his Bangladeshi counterpart. In walked Bangladeshi openers – Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar – to open the innings as Bhuvneshwar Kumar shared the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah.

Bhuvneshwar struck in the very first over as he dismissed Sarkar on a duck to get Sabbir Rahman at the crease. Sabbir hit four lacy boundaries to show some serious class at the middle. However, Bhuvneshwar proved to be too good to handle for him. Bhuvi struck for the second time in the 7th over to send Sabbir packing on 19 (21). Mushfiqur Rahim joined Tamim Iqbal at the crease with the scorecard reading 31/2.

Rahim and Iqbal settled the nerves and nurdled around for singles to get their feet going. Tamim’s fine run of form was on display as he hit an odd boundary every now and then during his stay at the crease. The veteran duo soon saw the scorecard move past the 100-run mark. The partnership looked good as runs came in good pace – almost at 6 runs per over.

A century stand beckoned for the two players as Tamim notched up yet another fifty in the competition. Indian spinners – Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja – looked very ordinary as they were taken to the cleaners. Indian skipper Virat Kohli found it right to bring in Kedar Jadhav to cover up for the expensive Ashwin-Jadeja duo. Kedar struck and the move worked for India.

Indian bowlers claw back in the game

He dismissed Tamim on 70 that came off 82 balls with 7 fours and a six in the 28th over of the game. Shakib Al Hasan, the hero of the previous game, could not do much and perished on 15 to become Jadeja’s first wicket of the match. Meanwhile, Rahim continued to bat well to strike his fifty. However, he couldd not add much to his total thereafter. Rahum was dismissed on 61 off 85 balls with 4 fours.

His dismissal was another masterstroke from Kedar Jadhav. A mistimed shot landed safely in the hands of Virat Kohli to see him packing. Wickets of Mahmudullah (21) and Mosaddek (15) fell to Bumrah as the innings seemed to crash. The 48th over from Bhuvneshwar saw 5 dot balls being bowled and that spoke about how well Indian bowlers clawed back to the game.

An unbeaten 30 off 25 balls with 5 fours from skipper Mashrafe Mortaza towards the end saw Bangladesh post 264/7 in their 50 overs. Kedar, Bumrah, and Bhuvneshwar bagged 2 wicket each for India. The score looked slightly above average but was always a gettable one considering the depth of the Indian batting lineup.

And the run chase

In the run chase, the Indian openers made a mockery of the Bangladeshi new ball bowlers. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma continued plundering runs at will as they have been doing throughout the tournament. They took special liking to the bowling of Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman. Dhawan, the current leading run getter of the tournament this year, was the aggressor-in-chief.

With 63 runs on the board in the powerplay, the openers had set the tone for an easy run chase. The partnership was eventually broken in the 15th over after the openers had added 87 runs for the first wicket. Shikhar Dhawan was the man dismissed on 46 that came off 34 deliveries with 7 fours and a six. He perished in his attempt to slog one over mid on off the bowling of Mashrafe but ended up top edging it.

In walked Virat Kohli to join Rohit Sharma at the crease. Kohli took his initial bit of time to settle in as Rohit took the role of the attacker from the other end. He notched up his third fifty of the tournament and looked good for more. Soon, Kohli got into his groove to take heavy toll on the opposition. It was only a matter of time that the two players put on a century stand and Kohli raced past his fifty in quick time as well.

The shoulders started to drop for the Bangladeshi camp as India romped past the 200-run mark. A thundering six over fine leg off the bowling of Mustafizur by Rohit Sharma summed up the emotions. With the shot, Rohit notched up his 11th ODI ton, second against Bangladesh, and first in the Champions Trophy.

Soon, it was skipper Kohli who stepped on the accelerator to make short work of the run chase. Kohli remained unbeaten on 96 off just 78 balls with 13 fours to his name. Meanwhile, Rohit, at the other end, stood firm with an unbeaten 123 off 129 balls with 15 fours and a six to his name as India won by 9 wickets.

Brief Scores:

Bangladesh 264/7 in 50 overs (Tamim 70, Rahim 61, Kedar 2/22, Bumrah 2/39)

India 265/1 in 40.1 overs (Rohit 123*, Kohli 96*, Mortaza 1/29)

Check full scorecard here.