What's behind Team India's winning streak and the easy win over Bangladesh?
By K.R. Nayar
From Sir Viv Richards Stadium, Antigua
Team India extended their winning streak with a 50-run victory over Bangladesh, marking their fifth consecutive win in this edition of the World Cup. Many factors, such as teamwork, strategic planning, and above all, a brave approach, can be attributed to their success. Let’s take a closer look to find out if that is really the case.
The manner in which the Indian batsmen executed their strokes bravely and kept the scoreboard moving after being put into bat was a treat to watch. As a result, India, posted 196 for 5, the highest score on this ground in T20 cricket.
Skipper Rohit Sharma led the way, hitting 23 off 11 balls. His partnership of 39 with Virat Kohli in 3.4 overs was their highest in this tournament. The crowd was hoping they would get to see more of him. After the win, Rohit said: “I don't believe we need to get fifties and hundreds; what matters is the pressure we put on the bowlers. All our batters played like that from the word go, and that's how we want to play as well.”
Team India’s approach of not letting the bowlers dominate resulted in runs flowing freely. People wanted to see a big knock from Kohli, but his 37 runs were very useful in showcasing India’s positive approach. When he got out, the score was already 71 in 8.2 overs. In - form Suryakumar Yadav hit the first ball he faced for a six, but got out to the next. Such is India’s batting depth that it did not affect the team. Rishabh Pant’s breathtaking strokes carried the team briskly to the three-figure mark.
The toss before the India-Bangladesh match
Even though Shivam Dube struggled a little, it
did not matter because Hardik Pandya, the man who joined him, eased the
pressure and allowed him to unleash his strokes. Their partnership of 53 in 34
balls made the bowlers wonder where to bowl to stop the run flow. Dube got out
for 34, but by then Pandya was scoring at a good pace. It looked like India
might touch the 200-run mark; however, they fell short by four runs. Pandya got
his half-century off the last ball, remaining unbeaten on 50 off 27 balls with
three sixes and four boundaries.
Kuldeep Yadav strikes
As if taking a cue from India’s batting
approach, Bangladesh’s openers too went for their strokes. They put on 35 runs
in 4.3 overs before Hardik Pandya got Litton Das out, caught by Sharma for 13.
Their partnership had looked dangerous, and after Sharma caught him, the
usually calm person could not help but express his excitement. Talking about
that after the match, Sharma said: “When we discuss something with the bowler
and it comes off, it's feels very good.”
This also revealed that India had a plan and a trap
for every Bangladesh batsman. Shakib Al Hassan, the senior-most player in the
Bangladesh team, had to admit during the post-match press conference: “When you
are playing against a team like Australia or India, you have to bring your A
game. I think we are lacking in those skills and strength areas.”
When I asked Shakib whether his team should have
batted first after winning the toss, he admitted that was a mistake. “Ideally,
one would have batted first, but maybe the captain and coach thought otherwise.
We also thought that we would be able to restrict them in a reasonable way so
that there is a score in our head and we know how we should go about when we
bat. Maybe that's the reason we decided to field first.”
Jasprit Bumrah.. two vital wickets
The result of such thinking was that he scalped the wickets of opener Tanzid Hasan for 29, Towhid Hriday for 4, and even the dangerous Shakib Al Hassan for 11. Bumrah, as usual, picked two timely wickets, and Arshdeep Singh also bagged two, to ensure an easier victory than expected.
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