Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina shared a 68-run stand for the third wicket. (Source: AP)
India claimed their first two points of the Nidahas Trophy with a comfortable six-wicket win over Bangladesh. Shikhar Dhawan was the star of the show for India scoring his sixth T20I fifty and anchoring the Indian innings. For a better part of the chase, he was given company by Suresh Raina after Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant departed without affecting the scorecard too much. The two put up a 68-run partnership for the third wicket, practically winning the match for India.
Rohit Sharma was the aggressor in the short opening stand that India enjoyed. He made 17 off 13 balls, his innings punctuated by three fours, before playing on to his stumps off Mustafizur Rahman. Rishabh Pant was then promoted up the order and looked like he was getting his eyes in. But Rubel Hossain forced him to chase a wide ball and he ended up playing it on to his stumps too. Suresh Raina then came in and managed to expunge the little pressure that Bangladesh had managed to build around the Indian innings. Dhawan and Raina took India to 108 before the latter was dismissed by Rubel Hossain. Dhawan soon fell too but by then, India were on 123. Manish Pandey and Dinesh Karthik then easily saw it through for India.
Jaydev Unadkat took three wickets. (Source: AP)
While the batsmen were efficient, India were found wanting during Bangladesh’s innings. The bowlers gave away 11 wides and two no-balls and there were a number of misfields and dropped catches. Jaydev Unadkat were the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets for 38 runs in his four overs. Vijay Shankar followed suit with two wickets while Shardul Thakur and Yuzvendra Chahal took a wicket each. The fact that Bangladesh managed to make just 139/8 despite all the freebies only showed the gap in quality between the two sides. India have thus maintained a 6-0 record over Bangladesh in T20 Internationals. India have thus got their first two points of the Nidahas Trophy and have taken the top spot due to their superior run rate.
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