Nidahas Trophy, Match 5 Review: India romp home comfortably against a sturdy Bangla unit

After losing the first game to Sri Lanka, India made a stellar comeback and registered three successive wins in the tri-series. Banking on sensational performances from Rohit Sharma and Washington Sundar, the Indian contingent stormed their way into the finals of the Nidahas Trophy 2018. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will now play the decider in a couple of days time.

The Bangla Tigers won the toss earlier in the evening and decided to bowl first. The experienced campaigners Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan got their side off to a decent start and smashed a few boundaries. Nevertheless, India did manage to accumulate the desired amount of runs in the powerplay and ended up scoring 49 runs.

But after the first six overs, Rohit and Dhawan never really got going. The scoring rate came down drastically and by the time Dhawan was dismissed in the 10th over, the score was just 70. India managed to score just 21 runs after the powerplay. After that, the bowlers had to wait for long to celebrate another wicket.

Suresh Raina joined Sharma in the middle and the duo accelerated the run rate. Whilst both the players kept ravaging with aggression, the bowlers could barely reciprocate. It was good to see the veteran southpaw expressing himself so vivaciously and clobbering runs at will. The duo added 102 runs for the second wicket and they stuck in the middle till the final over.

India eventually scored 176 runs in their 20 overs for the loss of 3 wickets. Rohit Sharma scored 89 runs off 61 balls, whereas Raina smashed a 30-ball 47. For the Bangla Tigers, Rubel Hossain returned with figures of 2/27 and baring him, everyone was taken to the cleaners.

Mushfiqur and Washington shine again

If ever there was to be a right time for Washington Sundar to make people feel his presence, this was the opportune moment and the youngster has managed to do it brilliantly in this series. He perhaps is the best player for the Indian contingent thus far and once again, it was his performances which made the difference.

Washington Sundar once again was handed the new ball and he delivered big time. He picked up a wicket in the second over of the innings and despite Tamim Iqbal’s onslaught, Sundar’s magic with the white cherry remained the hot topic. Tamim threatened to take the game away but fell prey to Sundar. The other victim of his exceptional bowling display was Liton Das.

Mushfiqur Rahim played an absolute blinder in the previous game to help their side clinch a massive win. Once again, it was that man at the nucleus of the innings. Although he wasn’t getting great support, he went about his business with grace. His partnership with Sabbir Rahman added life back to the game and the Tigers looked well in contention.

Mohammed Siraj once again had a horrid time in the International jersey, conceding way too many easy runs. But Yuzvendra Chahal and Vijay Shankar’s economical spells helped the side a great deal to increase the required rate. Eventually, Mushfiqur’s 55-ball 72 went in vain as his team fell 17 runs short of the target. India, as a result, enter the finals with ease while Bangladesh will now have to settle things in a couple of days time against the hosts.

Brief Scores

India: 176/3 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 89, Suresh Raina 47; Rubel Hossain 2/27)

Bangladesh: 159/6 in 20 overs (Mushfiqur 72*; Washington Sundar 3/22)

Player of the match: Rohit Sharma

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