India close in on semis place after nervy win against Bangladesh
Virat Kohli whacked an unbeaten 64 to maintain his red-hot form but did not look convincing at the start of his innings before he got into his stride
02 November 2022 - 19:42
by Amlan Chakraborty
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New Delhi - Inaugural champions India put a foot in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup after their nervy five-run victory against Bangladesh in a rain-hit Group 2 humdinger in Adelaide on Wednesday.
Virat Kohli made an unbeaten 64 to maintain his red-hot form and KL Rahul (50) ended his run drought as they fired India to a commanding 184/6 at the Adelaide Oval.
Chasing a revised target of 151 in 16 overs after rain interruption, Bangladesh looked on course with Litton Das (60) going great guns, but his exit unhinged his side and they eventually finished on 145/6.
India moved to the top of Group 2 with six points, one ahead of SA who have played one game fewer.
Put into bat, India did not have the best of starts with Taskin Ahmed proving quite a handful even though the seamer went wicketless.
Hasan Mahmud (3/47) dropped Rohit Sharma in the deep but almost immediately made amends in dismissing the India captain for two with his second delivery.
Kohli did not look convincing initially but was soon in his element, while Rahul also looked in great touch at the other end.
With scores of 4, 9, 9 in his previous three matches, Rahul was under pressure to justify his selection and the opener responded by clubbing four sixes en route to a 31-ball 50 as India reached 86/2 at the halfway stage.
Suryakumar Yadav played a typically breezy 30 off 16 balls on a day he replaced Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan as the top-ranked T20 batter.
Kohli accelerated in the penultimate over, registering his third 50 in four innings and also overtook Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene as the leading run-getter in the history of the tournament.
Das gave Bangladesh a rollicking start, scoring 56 of their 60 runs in the first six power play overs.
He raced to a 21-ball 50 before rain halted play with Bangladesh on 66/0 after seven overs.
When play resumed with a revised target, Das was beaten by Rahul’s direct throw from deep midwicket and it triggered a batting collapse.
Bangladesh needed 20 from the last over from Arshdeep Singh and Nurul Hasan but got a six and a four — not enough in the end.
Earlier, Zimbabwe’s hopes of reaching the semifinals effectively evaporated after their five-wicket defeat by the Netherlands.
Zimbabwe were all out for 117 in 19.2 with only Sikander Raza (40) and Sean Williams (28) reaching double digits.
Max O’Dowd led Netherlands’ reply with 52 and Tom Cooper made 32 as the Dutch side, who have already crashed out, registered their first Super 12 win with two overs to spare.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
India close in on semis place after nervy win against Bangladesh
Virat Kohli whacked an unbeaten 64 to maintain his red-hot form but did not look convincing at the start of his innings before he got into his stride
New Delhi - Inaugural champions India put a foot in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup after their nervy five-run victory against Bangladesh in a rain-hit Group 2 humdinger in Adelaide on Wednesday.
Virat Kohli made an unbeaten 64 to maintain his red-hot form and KL Rahul (50) ended his run drought as they fired India to a commanding 184/6 at the Adelaide Oval.
Chasing a revised target of 151 in 16 overs after rain interruption, Bangladesh looked on course with Litton Das (60) going great guns, but his exit unhinged his side and they eventually finished on 145/6.
India moved to the top of Group 2 with six points, one ahead of SA who have played one game fewer.
Put into bat, India did not have the best of starts with Taskin Ahmed proving quite a handful even though the seamer went wicketless.
Hasan Mahmud (3/47) dropped Rohit Sharma in the deep but almost immediately made amends in dismissing the India captain for two with his second delivery.
Kohli did not look convincing initially but was soon in his element, while Rahul also looked in great touch at the other end.
With scores of 4, 9, 9 in his previous three matches, Rahul was under pressure to justify his selection and the opener responded by clubbing four sixes en route to a 31-ball 50 as India reached 86/2 at the halfway stage.
Suryakumar Yadav played a typically breezy 30 off 16 balls on a day he replaced Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan as the top-ranked T20 batter.
Kohli accelerated in the penultimate over, registering his third 50 in four innings and also overtook Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene as the leading run-getter in the history of the tournament.
Das gave Bangladesh a rollicking start, scoring 56 of their 60 runs in the first six power play overs.
He raced to a 21-ball 50 before rain halted play with Bangladesh on 66/0 after seven overs.
When play resumed with a revised target, Das was beaten by Rahul’s direct throw from deep midwicket and it triggered a batting collapse.
Bangladesh needed 20 from the last over from Arshdeep Singh and Nurul Hasan but got a six and a four — not enough in the end.
Earlier, Zimbabwe’s hopes of reaching the semifinals effectively evaporated after their five-wicket defeat by the Netherlands.
Zimbabwe were all out for 117 in 19.2 with only Sikander Raza (40) and Sean Williams (28) reaching double digits.
Max O’Dowd led Netherlands’ reply with 52 and Tom Cooper made 32 as the Dutch side, who have already crashed out, registered their first Super 12 win with two overs to spare.
Reuters
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