Despite the challenging pitch where most of his teammates struggled with the bat, opener Shubman Gill displayed remarkable resilience to score his fifth ODI century, a brilliant 121 off 133 balls. However, it proved to be in vain as Bangladesh narrowly defeated India by six runs in an exhilarating Asia Cup Super Four contest at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Friday.
Despite Shubman Gill’s outstanding effort with eight fours and five sixes, and Axar Patel’s fast 42 off 34 balls towards the finish, India fell short, getting bowled out for 259 in 49.5 overs. Mustafizur Rahman grabbed three wickets, leading to Bangladesh’s high-note exit from the competition.
After Captain Shakib Al Hasan and Towhid Hridoy both notched up half-centuries, Bangladesh reached a score of 265/8. Their lower-order batsmen played a key part in obtaining this total. Tanzim Hasan Sakib, making his debut, excelled with numbers of 2/32. The four-man spin attack from Bangladesh capitalized on the pitch’s turn and bounce, exerting pressure on the Indian squad.
In their chase of 266, India encountered early setbacks at the hands of Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Captain Rohit Sharma lost his wicket early by chipping an outswinger straight to cover point. Tilak Varma, making his debut, shouldered arms to an away-going delivery, only to be stunned as the ball hit the stumps.
Shubman Gill played skillfully, using his talent to cut, drive, and punch with accuracy, while K.L. Rahul performed his cut shots successfully from a deep crease position. However, Rahul’s stay was cut short as he whipped a delivery straight to mid-wicket off Mahedi Hasan in an attempt to break free.
Gill got his half-century in style by prancing down the pitch and smashing Mahedi for a six in the 20th over. Unfortunately, he kept losing companions at the other end. Ishan Kishan succumbed to a plumb lbw decision by Mehidy Hasan Miraz after missing a reverse sweep.
Suryakumar Yadav mostly depended on the sweep stroke during his 34-ball innings, which brought him two boundaries but also made him predictable. His collapse came when he attempted another sweep and was caught by Shakib Al Hasan.
Gill eventually achieved his century in 117 balls with a brace through deep mid-wicket, followed by two consecutive fours off Tanzim. However, his innings came to an end when he lofted Mahedi’s slower delivery outside the off-stump and was caught at long-off.
Axar Patel, who survived an LBW appeal, kept India’s hopes alive with some tremendous hitting, including a four and a six against Nasum in the 48th over. But Rahman flipped the game in Bangladesh’s favor in the next over, as Shardul Thakur clipped a full-toss to square leg, and Axar was caught at long-off soon after hitting a four, securing a victory for Bangladesh.
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