Thanks to Mushfiqur Rahim and Soumya Sarkar brilliant knocks, Bangladesh registered their first win over India in T20Is defeating them in the first T20I match played at Feroshah Kotla Stadium, New Delhi on Sunday.
Bangladesh captain Mahmudllah won the toss and decided to field first. Rohit Sharma played some lovely strokes in the 1st over and then was dismissed Al Amin. Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul struggled to score runs against the Bangladesh bowlers. At the end of 6 overs, India were 35 for 1.
After the power play overs, India lost their 2nd wicket as KL Rahul was dismissed by Biplob for 15. Rahul and Dhawan added 26 runs for 2nd wicket. Shreyas Iyer came to the crease and took on Bangladeshi spinner Biplob. As things looked good for India, Iyer played a bad stroke to be dismissed for a quickfire 22 off 13 balls. Pant and Dhawan struggled against the Bangladeshi bowlers. A misunderstanding between both these batsmen ended Dhawan’s innings for 41 off 42 balls. Pant also could not hit big shots and hit 27 off 26 balls. The debutant Shivam Dube could only score 1 run. Washington Sundar and Krunal Pandya put on unbeaten 30 runs in 2 overs to help India post 148 for 6 in 20 overs.
Chasing 149 runs to win, Bangladesh got off to a worst possible start as Liton Das was dismissed in the very first over. Naim Islam and Soumya Sarkar struggled against the Indian bowlers but played with positive intent after that. At the end of 6 overs, Bangladesh were 45 for 1.
After the power play overs, Yuzvendra Chahal was bought into the attack and got wicket immediately getting the wicket of Naim Islam for 26. Islam and Sarkar added 46 runs for the 2nd wicket. Mushfiqur Rahim came to the crease and struggled against the Indian spinners. Rahim survived two LBW chances which was not reviewed. Sarkar looked out of sorts but made sure that he stayed with Rahim. With the required going above 10, Khaleel Ahmed produced a massive wicket to dismiss Sarkar for 39 off 35 balls. Rahim and Sarkar added 60 runs for the 3rd wicket.
Rahim survived another chance as he was dropped by Krunal Pandya. In the 19th Rahim hit 4 boundaries off Khaleel Ahmed bowling to take the game away for India. He reached his fifty off 41 balls. Bangladesh captain Mahmudllah hit the winning runs and helped the visitors register 7 wicket win with 7 balls to spare.
Bangladesh 154 for 3 in 19.3 overs ( Mushfiqur Rahim 60*, Soumya Sarkar 39, Yuzvendra Chahal 1/24) by 7 wickets.
Rahim was awarded the man of the match for his 60*. Bangladesh takes a 1-0 lead in the series. The 2nd T20I match will be played at SCA Stadium, Rajkot on 7th November.
