Poor fielding and lack of judgement while going for the DRS calls cost India the first T20I against Bangladesh at the Kotla on Sunday, stand-in captain Rohit Sharma rued.
Mushfiqur Rahim (60 not out) cashed in on a reprieve after Krunal Pandya dropped him at deep midwicket and took Bangladesh home as the visitors won the game by seven wickets with three balls to spare.
Krunal failed to hold on to the chance, denying Yuzvendra Chahal what would have been a match-turning wicket. Rishabh Pant’s indecisiveness before Rohit thought about taking the DRS also benefited Rahim as India failed to defend the 149-run target on a tricky Kotla surface.
“It was a defendable score, but we made mistakes on the field. The guys are a bit inexperienced, but they can learn from that. Perhaps they won’t make those mistakes the next time. The reviews were also a mistake from our side,” Rohit said during the post-match presentation.
Rohit explained the DRS calls — one off Chahal’s bowling which he didn’t take on Pant’s insistence. The TV replays later showed that Rahim would have been out. The second one which India took was a caught behind off Soumya Sarkar, but there was no edge off the bat.
“The first ball he (Rahim) played on the back foot, we thought it was going down leg, and the next one on the front foot. But we forgot how short he is. “We weren’t up to the mark on the field, but batting-wise I think we put up a competitive score,” the skipper assessed.
However, Rohit gave credit to Bangladesh for being able to win the game — their first against India in nine T20Is — in a convincing manner.
“Not to take any credit away from Bangladesh. They put us under pressure right from the start when we were batting,” he said.
Yes, India are without the likes of Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. But Bangladesh played without two of their stalwarts — Shakib-al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal.
The game could still have been India’s had Krunal not dropped Rahim who was on 38 then. In the very next over — penultimate over of the game — Rahim smashed Khaleel Ahmed for four boundaries in a row that virtually sealed the game for Bangladesh.
They needed only four off the final over and stand-in captain Mahmudullah Riyad sealed the game by smashing debutant Shivam Dube for a six with three balls to spare.
Rahim and Mahmudullah ensured the ghosts of Bangalore, that forgettable night for Bangladesh during the 2016 World T20, were buried.
Sourav’s praise
Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly praised and thanked both India and Bangladesh for braving the pollution and smog in the capital and getting on with the game.
Sourav also lauded Bangladesh for their victory.
“Thank u to both the teams to play this game @ImRo45 @BCBtigers under tuff conditions .. well done bangladesh ..” Sourav wrote on his Twitter handle shortly after the game.
