 "India make Bangladesh pay after Abhishek Sharma is dropped by Jaker Ali early during Asia Cup Super 4s clash")
After chasing targets for the most part, India found themselves batting first for only the second time in the ongoing Asia Cup. Unlike the group match against Oman in Abu Dhabi, the Men in Blue were invited to bat by Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday after Jaker Ali, leading the Bangla Tigers in place of Litton Das, won the toss.
LIVE | India vs Bangladesh, Asia Cup Super 4s match in Dubai
And as has largely been the case in the ongoing tournament, openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill once again got the Indians off to a flying start. And what made the fiery start in the crucial game against the three-time Asia Cup finalists even more remarkable was the manner in which the two, primarily Abhishek, accelerated after a slow start.
The Bangladeshis, after all, had conceded just 17 runs in the first three overs with pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib – replacing Taskin Ahmed – conceding 10 runs in his first two overs and left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed going for seven in his first.
As if the economical bowling wasn’t enough, Tanzim nearly got rid of Abhishek in his second over, with the southpaw getting a thick outside edge. And while Jaker put in an athletic dive to his left, he could not complete what was a tough catch.
Abhishek makes Tigers pay for dropped chance
Reducing India to 10/1 in the third over, with Abhishek back in the hut for just 7, would have given Bangladesh the perfect platform to restrict the T20 world champions to a modest total and boost their chances of snapping Suryakumar Yadav and Co’s winning streak in the ongoing tournament.
India, instead, would capitalise on the reprieve in dominant fashion, smashing 55 runs in the next three overs including 21 in the fourth to race to 72/0 at the end of the powerplay – the Men in Blue’s highest score in the first six overs so far in the ongoing tournament.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAbhishek would later go on to bring up his fourth half-century – his second on the trot – in just 25 deliveries, shortly after vice-captain Gill became the first Indian batter to be dismissed after holing out to Tanzim at long off off leg-spinner Rishad Hossain’s bowling.
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