ICC World Cup 2019: Warm-up Match 10, India vs Bangladesh, Review – Centurions KL Rahul and MS Dhoni steer India to a big win

India got exactly what they wanted from their second and final preparatory game against Bangladesh as they might’ve gotten a solution for their long-lasting conundrum. They also got some players back in form for the big tournament, much to the elation of the Indian fans.

Batting first in Cardiff, Indian openers got out early and failed once again to create an impact. Nevertheless, Virat Kohli hung in there alongside KL Rahul for a brief period to settle the innings down a little bit. But after the skipper’s dismissal, India lost Vijay Shankar as well, which saw them in deep trouble at 102/4 in 22 overs.

At this point, KL Rahul, who came out to bat at number four today, showcased his class to great effect. He romped through the Tigers’ batting lineup alongside MS Dhoni. Dhoni started off on a slow note as he always does, but after facing 30-40 deliveries, he started taking on the bowlers. He started scoring at a strike-rate in excess of 100 and Rahul too completed a fifty in the process.

Both these batsmen added 164 runs for the 5th wicket, which saw India posing a good challenge for a total in excess of 340. After KL Rahul got a hundred, pretty much cemented his place in the XI at number four, he was dismissed for a 99-ball 108. MS Dhoni took the fans back in time with some outstanding hitting towards the end, which saw India post a mammoth total.

Dhoni completed a much-needed hundred for him and the side. Although he was dismissed in the final over, his 78-ball 113 saw India pile up 359 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. Hardik Pandya too chipped in with an 11-ball 21 for the 2-time champions.

Liton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim fight back, but Tigers fall short

Liton Das, who chipped in with a memorable knock against India in the Asia Cup final last year, once again got going early. Soumya Sarkar too got off to a good start, but he was undone by a scorcher from Jasprit Bumrah. The very next ball, Bumrah sent Shakib Al Hasan back for a first-ball duck and things didn’t look very good for the Tigers.

Liton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim came along at this juncture and constructed a good partnership. They were not precisely keeping up with the required rate, but they did a good job to stay in contention. Both batsmen completed their half-centuries and added 120 runs for the 4th wicket.

After scoring a 90-ball 73, Liton Das was dismissed by Chahal and wickets started tumbling for the Tigers. Mushfiqur Rahim held the fort for some time and got close to a hundred. But he was bamboozled by a beautiful delivery from Kuldeep Yadav, who found some form back after a long time.

Eventually, they could register only 264 runs and got bowled out. Kuldeep registered figures of 3/47, which gives Virat Kohli a big healthy headache to choose between him and Ravindra Jadeja in the XI.

Brief Scores: India 359/7 in 50 overs (KL Rahul 108, MS Dhoni 114; Shakib Al Hasan 2/58) bt Bangladesh 264 in 49.3 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 90; Kuldeep Yadav 3/47). India won by 95 runs.