It would have been good to win the toss: MS Dhoni

India beat Bangladesh by 45 runs in the Asia Cup T20 opener to start the tournament at a high. Apart from the first half an hour where Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and his bowlers were able to pick three quick wickets they were never really in the game. A consistent Rohit Sharma and a fearless Hardik Pandya got India the momentum and in the end, with MS Dhoni’s customary last ball six India finished with 166 in their 20 overs. The chase was never going to be easy with the likes of Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin in the lineup. All the Indian bowlers were spot on and never lose control of the match.

The Indian skipper was pleased having started the campaign with a win. He was not 100% fit but his presence was crucial and though he had to keep with a belt on his back, he chose to play. MS Dhoni said he would have also liked to win the toss and bowl first but since the batsmen did the job it didn’t really matter. Dhoni said: “That’s not really in our hands. It would have been good to win the toss. I felt it was a 55-45 kind of toss. The ball was doing a bit and Rohit batted well. That’s his (Pandya) strength and we have to promote him more often. He is a good fielder as well. In these conditions, he can be an effective third seamer. I will be able to say tomorrow. Not really, I think in the last year or so my role has changed. At times, it is easy to go and express yourself.”

Indian opener Rohit Sharma was awarded the Man of the Match for his 83-run knock. It was his inning particularly that changed the course of the game for India from a point where they looked to drown like they did in Pune. Rohit said: “It is important for me to carry on from where I left. It is important to carry that confidence. It is a perfect platform leading up to the World Cup. We batted well and came back and defended it well. It was not the easiest wicket, but we knew we had to lay the foundation. I had to bat through for us to get to that target. I was trying to do my basics right. Left the good balls and used the pace of the bowlers to score runs.”

The Bangladesh fans cheered him as skipper Mashrafe Mortaza made his way to talk to Harsha Bhogle. Harsha was quick to point out that the crowd is still cheering despite that loss. Mortaza said: “The last 15 years I have been saying that. We win or lose they keep supporting us. We were in the game for the first 14 overs, but Rohit took the game away from us. We could have done certain things differently, but it was not to be today.”