Dhaka: India’s unbeaten run continued in the ICC World T20, as they beat hosts Bangladesh by eight wickets to seal their berth in the semi-finals.
India, set with a target of 139, didn’t begin all too well as Shikhar Dhawan (1) fell to Al Amin Hossain in the third over. However, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, new to the crease, took the chase forward, reaching their half centuries almost together. Rohit Sharma fell in the 16th over to Mashrafe Mortaza. scoring 56 off 44 deliveries. This brought the skipper into the middle, who finished the proceedings in style, helping India get home with 9 balls to spare. Kohli remained not out on 57.
Earlier, After MS Dhoni won the toss and put the hosts to field, Bangladesh opened its innings with Tamim Iqbal and Anamul Haque at the crease. Bhuveneshwar Kumar was punished in the first over, but Ashwin took charge in the fourth over to claim the scalps of Tamim Iqbal (6) and Shamsur Rahman (0). The next Bangladeshi wicket to fall was that of Shakib Al Hasan, who was done in by Kumar in the next over.
That brought together the pair of Anamul and Mushfiqur Rahim, who rescued the team with their scores of 44 and 24 respectively. However, the partnership was broken in the 11th over when Rahim was deceived by a Mohammad Shami delivery and soon after, Anamul too departed in the 13th over, falling prey to Amit Mishra. The hosts had more surprises for the Indians, as Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah stitched a 49-run partnership to take the hosts to 131-5 in 19 overs. The last oversaw Misra tumble the wicket of Hossain, as Bangladesh wrapped up for 138-7.
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