Shubham Gill’s brilliant knock didn’t help his team as Bangladesh won their first match in the Super Four round by defeating India by 6 runs.
Bangladesh scored 265/8 in 50 overs and in reply India managed to score 259/10 in 49.5 overs.
India already qualified for the Finals by defeating Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super Four round whereas with this victory Bangladesh opened their account in the Super Four but it was little late as they were already disqualified from the final earlier.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma after winning the toss opted to bowl first and he wanted to explore bat second as they were not fully batted in the 2nd innings in this Asia Cup.
Bengal Tigers didn’t get a good start as they lost 4 wickets in just 59 runs. Then the skipper Shakib Al Hasan (80 runs) and Towhid Hridoy (54 runs) put 101 runs together for the 5th wicket. Both of them provide some relief to the team as they struggle in the initial phase of the innings. Shakib also after being struggling in the starting but after he got set he was timing the ball beautifully. He hit 6 fours and 3 sixes in his knock while Towhid hit 5 fours and 2 sixes.
The lower order batters Nasum Ahmed (44 runs) and Mahedi Hasan (29 runs) provided some valuable runs in the death overs and took the score to 265 runs in 50 overs by losing 8 wickets.
Shardul Thakur got 3 wickets. Mohammad Shami grabbed 2 wickets. Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Prasidh Krishna took 1 wicket each.
India also didn’t start well and lost 2 wickets in just 17 runs. Shubman Gill (121 runs) standing in one end and lonely fighting from one end. KL Rahul (19 runs) and Suryakumar Yadav (26 runs) supported him but this was not enough to get par the score. Gill, who hit 8 fours and 5 sixes scored his 5th international ODI century.
In the end Axar Patel (42 runs) took the score inches closer but he missed the milestone as he got dismissed in the 2nd last over. In the end they managed to score 259 runs in 49.5 overs and also lost all their wickets.
Mustafizur Rahman grabbed 3 wickets and also completed his 150 international ODI wickets in this match. Tanzim Hasan Shakib and Mahedi Hasan got 2 wickets each. Shakib and Mehidy Hasan Miraz got 1 wicket each.
Rohit Sharma, India Captain
“We wanted to give some time to the guys, keeping the bigger picture in mind. Not compromising on how we wanted to play this game. Get in some players who are likely to play the World Cup. Axar batted brilliantly but couldn’t finish. He showed a lot of character.
But credit to the Bangladesh bowlers. Gill’s hundred was brilliant. He backs his game. He knows exactly how he wants to play. Pretty clear on what he wants to do for the team. Look at his form over the last year. Pretty solid against the new ball. Works really hard, there’s no optional practice for Gill.”
Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh Captain and Player of the Match
“Yes, we gave the guys who haven’t played a match. After the last couple of games, we thought spinners would do well. Today, I went early and had time to spend on the crease. It was a challenging wicket. It was seaming a bit and it got easier when the ball got older. Mahedi Hasan came to bowl and got us the breakthrough. He also bowled five overs at the end which is not easy.
Also Tanzim bowled well at the start and took two wickets. We have got a very good team. A lot of players were injured and some were going in and out, that didn’t help us. I think we will be a dangerous side in the World Cup.”