T20 World Cup 2022: Hits and flops as India beat Bangladesh in a thrilling game in Adelaide
In what was a tightly contested encounter between Asian rivals India and Bangladesh, the Men in Blue managed to hold onto a slim five-run win in Match 35 of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022. The high-octane game took place at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on Wednesday, November 2.
After being asked to bat, India put 184/6 on the board as both KL Rahul and Virat Kohli struck good-looking half-centuries. While Rahul tormented the Bangladeshi bowlers with his 32-ball 50 in the first half of the innings, Kohli's measured knock of 64* (44), helped India reach an impressive total.
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The match was not for the faint-hearted 🔥🥵
Bangladesh fought well 🫡
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In reply, opener Litton Das counter-attacked the Indian pacers and got Bangladesh off to a terrific start in the chase. However, the Tigers lost the plot after a rain-induced break and lost six wickets within just 40 runs. Although they were in the game thanks to some lusty blows at the end, they eventually fell short.
With the win, India have now positioned themselves on top of Group 2 while Bangladesh's hopes of qualifying for the knockouts look slim now.
On that note, let's take a look at the hits and flops from Wednesday's thrilling encounter between India and Bangladesh.
#4 Flop - Shoriful Islam (Bangladesh)
Bangladesh made one change from their previous game when they brought in Shoriful Islam in place of Soumya Sarkar. Bangladesh would've hoped to use Shoriful's left-arm angle against the Indian batters to good effect.
However, the change didn't pay dividends for the Men in Green as Shoriful was put away rather easily by the Indian batters. After leaking nine runs in his first over, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli took further toll on the pacer, smashing 24 runs in his next over.
The young Bangladeshi bowler bowled some fuller length deliveries, which proved easy for the batters to hit in Adelaide. Shoriful was tasked with bowling his remaining two overs at the death, where he gave away 24 runs in total. He ended the day with poor figures of 4-0-57-0.
#3 Hit - Litton Das (Bangladesh)
We lost even after coming very close to victory. There will be no shortage of effort in the next match as well. 🇧🇩
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After some substandard performances while batting at No. 3, Litton Das played a dashing knock when he slotted in as an opener in the game against India.
The 28-year-old went hammer and tongs on the Indian bowlers from the word go. It all started when the right-hander smashed three boundaries in the second over from Arshdeep Singh before gathering 16 runs off the next over.
Striking at a rate of 222.2, Das clobbered seven boundaries and three sixes during his knock of 60 from just 27 balls. His clean striking did put the Indian bowlers on the backfoot. While he was at the crease, Bangladesh were truly on course to cause an upset and chase down the total.
His superlative innings came to an end when KL Rahul's match-changing direct hit found him short of his crease during the eighth over. He was also not helped by the rain interrupting his good flow of batting at a crucial time.
#2 Flop - Rohit Sharma (India)
Hasan Mahmud dropped Rohit but later got the better of him in the very next over 🏏
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A player who hasn't been up to the mark in recent times, Rohit Sharma endured another poor outing on Wednesday. The Indian skipper failed to deliver once again and was dismissed after scoring just two runs off eight balls.
Taskin Ahmed troubled the opening batter in the initial overs before Hasan Mahmud dropped a sitter at deep square leg in the third over. Rohit, however, couldn't reprieve the count as he guided an innocuous delivery from Mahmud straight to Yasir Ali at backward point.
Rohit has averaged just 18.5 and has struck at an alarming rate of 108 in the ongoing T20 World Cup so far and will desperately need to step up for the remainder of the tournament.
#1 Hit - Virat Kohli (India)
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Virat Kohli was awarded the “Man of the Match” for his terrific knock against Bangladesh 👑🏏
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The modern-day legend Virat Kohli has found another purple patch in his career and he has been scoring runs for fun once again. The former India skipper continued his merry run with the bat against Bangladesh, scoring an unbeaten 64* off 44 balls.
Kohli entered the crease during the fourth over and looked positive right from the outset. He hit three quick boundaries early in his innings before milking singles and doubles in the middle-overs.
The 33-year-old, in his usual style, anchored the innings to perfection, scoring his first 32 runs off 29 balls before smashing his next 32 runs in just 15 deliveries. Kohli hit as many as eight boundaries and a solitary six en route to his remarkable knock. He bagged his second Man of the Match award of the tournament as well.