Mirpur: India tonight became the first team to qualify for the
semifinals of the ICC World Twenty20 after routing hosts Bangladesh by
eight wickets in a thoroughly one-sided Group II match, here.
India
restricted Bangladesh to 138 for seven, courtesy yet another dominating
performance by their spinners and then the batsmen made short work of
the target by crossing the line with nine balls to spare.
Leggie Amit Mishra (3/26) and off-spinner R Ashwin (2/15) shared five wickets between them to set up the win.
This
is third successive victory in the competition for India and they are
well on top of Group 2 with six points and a match to go against
Australia, who are more or less out of semifinal race.
India`s last-four berth is also their first since the inaugural edition in South Africa back in 2007.
Save
Shikhar Dhawan (1)`s early departure, there weren`t any hiccup as Rohit
Sharma (56) and Virat Kohli (57) batted with consummate ease and the
`Men In Blue` reached the target without breaking much sweat. Both
Sharma and Kohli scored their second successive half-centuries.
The duo added 100 runs for the second wicket partnership to pave the way for another professional show by the team.
Rohit
faced 44 balls in his knock hitting five fours and a six. Virat took 50
deliveries for his knock and helped himself with three fours and a six
in the process.
Such has been the duo`s domination in the
tournament that skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had to promote himself up
to get an opportunity to bat as he desperately needed some batting
practice in a match situation.
Dhoni (22 off 12) finished it off in style by hitting a straight six off Ziaur Rahman.
The
two shots in the Indian innings which stood out were the sixes hit by
Rohit and Kohli respectively. First was a bouncer by the skiddy Al-Amin
Hossain which Rohit hooked deep into the lower tier of the Shere Bangla
Stadium.
The second was an effortless loft over extra cover by
Kohli off the same pacer. The two hits showed the gulf in standards
between the two teams.
It was not easy to bowl under lights as
the home team bowlers found out. It seemed that Bangladesh had lost the
zeal to compete after their mauling at the hands of West Indies.
There were a couple of difficult skiers offered by Rohit but Sohag Gazi and Anamul Haque made a mess of those.
Their
bowlers and fielders were happy to go through the motion as the match
did not have any element of excitement like the afternoon humdinger
between West Indies and Australia.
Earlier, Indian spinners yet
again put up an impressive show. Ashwin was yet again at his
parsimonious best with exceptional figures of two for 15 in four overs.
Amit
Mishra`s dream run in the marquee event continued as he was the pick of
the bowlers with figures of three for 26 in four overs.
Bhuvneshwar
Kumar bowled tidily to gave away only 21 in his three overs and
dismissed their top player Shakib Al Hasan in the process.
For
Bangladesh, all-rounder Mahmudullah finally came good as he blasted
unbeaten 33 off 23 balls with five fours and a six to give his team`s
total a decent look.
Mahmudullah added 49 runs for the sixth
wicket with Nasir Hossain (16) as they are the third team in the
tournament that India have restricted for less than 140.
Opener Anamul Haque (44) played well at the top while skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (24) failed to convert the start that he got.
Tamim
Iqbal`s (4) tournament got from bad to worse as he was out in a soft
manner, pushing at a flighted delivery from Ashwin that turned after
pitching. Suresh Raina took the catch at the first slip.
Shamsur
Rahman (0) was out off the very next ball with an atrocious cross-batted
heave. He found out the only man outside the circle on the leg-side.
Rohit Sharma had little difficulty in taking the catch running forward
from his deep mid-wicket position.
Ashwin was on a hat-trick but Shakib stopped the Tamil Nadu tweaker from reaching the milestone.
Shakib
(1) however did not last long as he was played on off Bhuvneshwar
Kumar`s delivery with Bangladesh were reeling at 21 for three within the
first five overs.
Anamul along with skipper Mushfiqur Rahim
started a repair job. Rahim hit Jadeja for a couple of boundaries
including a slog-swept boundary that brought the team?s 50 up in the
ninth over.
Rahim (24) however played a loose shot and was caught
by a diving Virat Kohli at mid-on position. Anamul-Rahim partnership
yielded 46 runs for the fourth wicket.
Anamul hit some
eye-catching boundaries off spinners. His favourite area of attack was
the cover and extra cover region. A couple of boundaries off Shami and
Bhuvneshwar were delightful strokes. He also hit Shami over long-off for
a six and got a maximum, hitting Jadeja inside-out over extra-cover.
But
on 44, Amit Mishra bowled back-to-back googlies which he failed to
read. The first one went for four byes but the second one was good
enough to light on the LED stumps. He faced 43 balls with five fours and
two sixes.
Half of the team was back in the dug-out by the end of the 13th over with only 82 on board.Mirpur: India tonight became the first team to qualify for the
semifinals of the ICC World Twenty20 after routing hosts Bangladesh by
eight wickets in a thoroughly one-sided Group II match, here.
SCORECARD» | COMMENTARY» |
AS IT HAPPENED» India
restricted Bangladesh to 138 for seven, courtesy yet another dominating
performance by their spinners and then the batsmen made short work of
the target by crossing the line with nine balls to spare.
Leggie Amit Mishra (3/26) and off-spinner R Ashwin (2/15) shared five wickets between them to set up the win.
This
is third successive victory in the competition for India and they are
well on top of Group 2 with six points and a match to go against
Australia, who are more or less out of semifinal race.
India`s last-four berth is also their first since the inaugural edition in South Africa back in 2007.
Save
Shikhar Dhawan (1)`s early departure, there weren`t any hiccup as Rohit
Sharma (56) and Virat Kohli (57) batted with consummate ease and the
`Men In Blue` reached the target without breaking much sweat. Both
Sharma and Kohli scored their second successive half-centuries.
The duo added 100 runs for the second wicket partnership to pave the way for another professional show by the team.
Rohit
faced 44 balls in his knock hitting five fours and a six. Virat took 50
deliveries for his knock and helped himself with three fours and a six
in the process.
Such has been the duo`s domination in the
tournament that skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had to promote himself up
to get an opportunity to bat as he desperately needed some batting
practice in a match situation.
Dhoni (22 off 12) finished it off in style by hitting a straight six off Ziaur Rahman.
The
two shots in the Indian innings which stood out were the sixes hit by
Rohit and Kohli respectively. First was a bouncer by the skiddy Al-Amin
Hossain which Rohit hooked deep into the lower tier of the Shere Bangla
Stadium.
The second was an effortless loft over extra cover by
Kohli off the same pacer. The two hits showed the gulf in standards
between the two teams.
It was not easy to bowl under lights as
the home team bowlers found out. It seemed that Bangladesh had lost the
zeal to compete after their mauling at the hands of West Indies.
There were a couple of difficult skiers offered by Rohit but Sohag Gazi and Anamul Haque made a mess of those.
Their
bowlers and fielders were happy to go through the motion as the match
did not have any element of excitement like the afternoon humdinger
between West Indies and Australia.
Earlier, Indian spinners yet
again put up an impressive show. Ashwin was yet again at his
parsimonious best with exceptional figures of two for 15 in four overs.
Amit
Mishra`s dream run in the marquee event continued as he was the pick of
the bowlers with figures of three for 26 in four overs.
Bhuvneshwar
Kumar bowled tidily to gave away only 21 in his three overs and
dismissed their top player Shakib Al Hasan in the process.
For
Bangladesh, all-rounder Mahmudullah finally came good as he blasted
unbeaten 33 off 23 balls with five fours and a six to give his team`s
total a decent look.
Mahmudullah added 49 runs for the sixth
wicket with Nasir Hossain (16) as they are the third team in the
tournament that India have restricted for less than 140.
Opener Anamul Haque (44) played well at the top while skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (24) failed to convert the start that he got.
Tamim
Iqbal`s (4) tournament got from bad to worse as he was out in a soft
manner, pushing at a flighted delivery from Ashwin that turned after
pitching. Suresh Raina took the catch at the first slip.
Shamsur
Rahman (0) was out off the very next ball with an atrocious cross-batted
heave. He found out the only man outside the circle on the leg-side.
Rohit Sharma had little difficulty in taking the catch running forward
from his deep mid-wicket position.
Ashwin was on a hat-trick but Shakib stopped the Tamil Nadu tweaker from reaching the milestone.
Shakib
(1) however did not last long as he was played on off Bhuvneshwar
Kumar`s delivery with Bangladesh were reeling at 21 for three within the
first five overs.
Anamul along with skipper Mushfiqur Rahim
started a repair job. Rahim hit Jadeja for a couple of boundaries
including a slog-swept boundary that brought the team?s 50 up in the
ninth over.
Rahim (24) however played a loose shot and was caught
by a diving Virat Kohli at mid-on position. Anamul-Rahim partnership
yielded 46 runs for the fourth wicket.
Anamul hit some
eye-catching boundaries off spinners. His favourite area of attack was
the cover and extra cover region. A couple of boundaries off Shami and
Bhuvneshwar were delightful strokes. He also hit Shami over long-off for
a six and got a maximum, hitting Jadeja inside-out over extra-cover.
But
on 44, Amit Mishra bowled back-to-back googlies which he failed to
read. The first one went for four byes but the second one was good
enough to light on the LED stumps. He faced 43 balls with five fours and
two sixes.
Half of the team was back in the dug-out by the end of the 13th over with only 82 on board.