ICC Champions Trophy 2017: India vs Bangladesh, Kedar Jadhav's two-wicket spell is SK Turning Point of the match
On an idyllic sunny afternoon in Birmingham, India’s top-order made mincemeat of Bangladesh’s bowling attack to book a mouthwatering finale with arch-rivals Pakistan. However, the turning point of the second semi-final of the 2017 Champions Trophy had occurred much earlier.
When it looked like Bangladesh were heading towards a 300-plus total, skipper Virat Kohli pulled a rabbit out of the hat by introducing Kedar Jadhav into the equation. The part-time off-spinner prised out a couple of vital wickets to tilt the scales in India’s favour.
From that moment onwards, the ‘Men in Blue’ never looked back and cruised to a comfortable 9-wicket victory. Here’s how India managed to take control of the crucial encounter at Edgbaston.
Tamim and Mushfiqur cut loose
Kohli won a handy toss and expectedly opted to chase on a flat track. With the overhead conditions suddenly becoming murky, Bangladesh struggled to get off to a smooth start. Bhuvneshwar Kumar made optimum use of the new-ball by removing Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman.
The latter, in particular, seemed to be extremely dangerous. However, he played one shot too many and succumbed to the wiles of the swing bowler.
Mushfiqur Rahim joined opener Tamim Iqbal in the middle. As the sun gradually began to peek through the clouds, the experienced duo made merry on the docile surface. The wicket-keeper batsman got himself going by smashing three successive boundaries off Bhuvneshwar.
On the other hand, Tamim was slightly circumspect, to begin with. He had his fair share of luck when the inside edge on to the stumps came off a no-ball from Hardik Pandya. Once the spinners were brought into the attack, the southpaw appeared to settle into the groove.
The right-left combination made matters worse for Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. The spin pair were unable to find their ideal rhythm during the middle-overs. Apart from rotating the strike frequently, Tamim and Mushfiqur also found the boundary on a regular basis.
Jadhav does the star turn
At the half-way mark of the innings, Bangladesh were poised at 142/2 and had set their sights on something bigger. Rapidly running short of options, Kohli had to think out of the box. With Pandya going for runs aplenty in his first spell, the noose was tightening around the captain in a high-pressure game.
But Kohli took on the challenge by adopting a calculated gamble. Despite having the seasoned Yuvraj Singh at his disposal, he decided to entrust Jadhav with the ball despite the part timer’s below par outing against Sri Lanka.
The move turned to be a brilliant one as Jadhav helped India get rid of both Tamim and Mushfiqur. The former went first when he misjudged the line and played all around a straighter delivery. The off spinner's round-arm action played its part in castling the left-hander who departed for a well-made 70.
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Having broken the 123-run partnership, the spinners proceeded to turn on the screws. After applying the brakes on the scoring rate, Jadeja utilised the newly generated pressure by dismissing Shakib Al Hasan. Bangladesh's woes were aggravated even further as Jadhav prised out Mushfiqur in the very next over.
The wicket-keeper batsman had to remain content with a 85-ball 61. From 154/2, the scorecard turned into 179/5 in the space of less than eight overs. India could now sense the palpable change in momentum.
Bangladesh lose their way
With quick wickets resulting in a major collapse in the middle-overs, all the hard work done earlier by Bangladesh came unstuck during a pivotal phase in the game. Mahmudullah, who had scored a fluent century against New Zealand, looked out of depth upon coming in at a different situation.
He was reprieved when Ashwin dropped a straightforward chance at third man.
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Runs started to dry up and pressure was building up on a seemingly relentless basis. Kohli brought back his seamers as the death overs loomed. Bumrah did not take too long before striking in his second spell. He sent back both Mosaddek Hossain and Mahmudullah to leave Bangladesh reeling at 229/7.
Mashrafe Mortaza tried to shore up the total by wielding the long handle. Thanks to his cameo, they at least ended on a decent total. Once again, Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar got their lengths spot on during the business stage of the contest.
If at all they had any chance of defending 264, Bangladesh needed some early wickets. But Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma kept them at bay with another strong opening partnership. When the left-hander departed four runs short of what would have been his fourth consecutive score of fifty or more, Kohli stepped in.
Rohit and Kohli knocked off the remaining runs with consummate ease to hunt down the target with almost 10 overs to spare. While the elegant opener smashed his 11th ODI century, his skipper finished on 96 to help India march into the final.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh were left to rue their catastrophic middle-order collapse against the part-time off-spin of Jadhav. After all, it could have been a slightly more competitive contest had they sustained their momentum and amassed a formidable total.