All-rounders Hardik Pandya (50 not out off 27 balls) and Shivam Dube (34 off 24 balls) fired after the specialist batsmen gave their wickets away despite being well set. The bowlers, thereafter, ensured to get the job done on a pitch that got slower as India brushed an insipid Bangladesh aside by 50 runs at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium at North Sound in Antigua on Saturday.
Up against an opposition that has repeatedly made gross errors in this T20 World Cup and seem to have no idea how to put superior opponents under pressure, an unchanged India comfortably maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament. Yet another Super Eight-phase win also confirmed them a spot in the semi-finals.
Rohit Sharma and Co. will play the second semi-final in Guyana on June 27.
Chasing isn’t quite their forte, yet Bangladesh asked India to bat first, something the latter wanted to do on a pitch which was quite good for strokeplay early on and slowed down as the game progressed. Openers Rohit and Virat Kohli couldn’t convert their starts, and Suryakumar Yadav lasted just two balls. Yet, they were able to post 196/5, courtesy Pandya and his 53-run fifth-wicket stand with Dube.
If not for the all-rounders’ partnership which came off 5.4 overs, India’s innings could well have drifted, especially after Rishabh Pant (36 off 24 balls) fell during a critical phase, once again attempting the reverse-sweep.
But Pandya, after his impressive batting against Afghanistan last Thursday in Bridgetown, stepped up once again, unleashing his strokes consistently. More importantly, his consistency with the ball aside, things seem to be falling into place for batsman Pandya as well.
Even Dube had a far better time out in the middle, not sparing anything when the Bangladeshi bowlers pitched it in his arc.
To speak of India’s bowlers, they were never really under pressure once Litton Das perished at the deep off Pandya’s bowling. There was hardly any effort from any of the Bangladesh batters to try and make India’s bowlers do something differently.
Jasprit Bumrah (2/13) had a field day again, while chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav (3/19) too had fun, as India practically wrapped up the game well before it was over. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto was Bangladesh’s top scorer (40 off 32 balls) as they limped to 146/8.
