CT 2017, India v Bangladesh, Warm-up game: Bangla tigers humiliated by the defending champions

Team India has geared up for their title defense in the Champions Trophy is a grand style. They beat the Bangladesh team in the second warm-up fixture by a mammoth margin of 240 runs. The Indian batsmen piled up a big total on the board despite not having the services of Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli needed on the day. They managed to score 324 runs on the board.

With the ball, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami wreaked havoc as they saw the Bangladeshi team reeling on 22/6 at one stage. Things got worse when they lost their 7th wicket with 47 runs on the board. Had there not been some late resistance from Mehedi Hasan, the team would have faced massive embarrassment.

Earlier in the game, the Bangladeshi camp had a surprise as Shakib Al Hasan walked into the toss instead of regular skipper Mashrafe Mortaza. Shakib won the toss and opted to bowl first. The move proved to be a correct one considering the overcast conditions at the Kennington Oval. In walked Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan to open the innings.

Rohit lasted only 3 balls before being bowled by Rubel Hossain on 1 in the second over of the game. Ajinkya Rahane came in to bat at number three. Rahane started briskly with a four but could only score 11 off 21 balls before being dismissed in the 7th over by Mustafizur Rahman. Dinesh Karthik, who had scored a duck in the previous game, joined Shikhar Dhawan at the crease with India standing on 21/2.

Karthik and Dhawan played superbly to bring India back in the game. Some stellar batting shots were on display as Dhawan and Karthik mustered their ways to their respective fifties. They added 100 runs in 99 deliveries for the third wicket. The partnership was broken in the 23rd over when Dhawan was sent packing by Sunzamul Islam. Dhawan scored 60 off 67 balls with 7 fours to his name.

In walked Kedar Jadhav at the crease. While Jadhav took his time to settle in, Dinesh Karthik continued to plunder runs. He looked in supreme touch as he took special liking to Sunzamul. Kedar scored 31 off 38 deliveries before becoming Sunzamul’s second victim. Meanwhile, Karthik retired out on 94 that came off just 77 balls with 8 fours and a six.

Pandya’s final flourish

The ideal finish was provided by Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. Pandya showed no mercy and hammered runs at will. A bludgeoning innings was on the cards. He finished with an unbeaten 80 off just 54 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes to his name in the match. Jadeja had earlier fallen for 32 that came off 36 balls. India finished with 324/7 in their 50 overs. Rubel Hossain was the pick of the bowlers for the Bangladesh team as he returned with 3/50 to his name.

And the run chase

There was absolutely very little to talk about the Bangladeshi run chase. Indian pacers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav in particular, wreaked havoc in the match. They made the ball swing both ways. The bounce only made things worse for them. After negotiating 19 balls in the innings, the first wicket fell. What followed next was an absolute procession.

Soumya Sarkar was the first to depart as he was caught behind by Dinesh Karthik off the bowling of Umesh Yadav on 2. Sabbir Rahman was bowled by Umesh on a duck and Imrul Kayes was sent packing on 7 by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Wickets of Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, and Mosaddek Hossain Saikat fell in quick succession as Bangladesh found themselves stuttering on 22/6 in 7.3 overs.

Mehedi Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim showed brief resistance before Rahim walked back after scoring only 13. Sunzamul and Mehedi added some more runs to the board but they were down and out of the game. It was only a matter of time that they bundled up. The innings ended with just 84 runs to their credit in 23.5 overs as Indian bowlers reigned supreme.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar bagged 3/13 in his 5 overs and Mohammad Shami returned with figures of 3/16 in his 5 overs. India won the match by a handsome margin of 240 runs.

Brief Scores:

India 324/7 in 50 overs (Karthik 94 retd., Hardik 80*, Rubel 3/50, Sunzamul 2/74)

Bangladesh 84/10 (Mehedi 24, Sunzamul 18, Bhuvneshwar 3/13, Shami 3/16)