 "T20 World Cup 2024: All-round India thrash Bangladesh by 60 runs in only practice game")
Team India began their tour of the United States and the Caribbean on a confident note, thrashing Bangladesh by 60 runs in their only warm-up match ahead of the T20 World Cup in New York on Saturday.
In a clinical all-round performance at the newly-inaugurated Nassau County International Stadium, India rode on Rishabh Pant’s (53 off 32) sparking half-century as well as vital contributions from Hardik Pandya (40 not out off 23) and Suryakumar Yadav (31 off 18) to post a challenging 182/5 after opting to bat.
Their disciplined bowling unit would then virtually kill the contest by grabbing three wickets for just 10 runs inside four overs, inflicting a blow that the Tigers would not recover from for the remainder of the day.
As It Happened | India vs Bangladesh, T20 World Cup warmup match
Bangladesh eventually crawled to 122/9 at the end of their innings, going past 100 thanks mainly to the contributions of senior all-rounders Mahmudullah (40) and Shakib Al Hasan (28), who added 69 for the sixth wicket before the former retired out.
For Team India, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh (2/12) and seam-bowling all-rounder Shivam Dube (2/13) were the pick of the bowlers, grabbing a couple of wickets each. Grabbing a wicket each, meanwhile, were Axar Patel (1/10), Jasprit Bumrah (1/12), Mohammed Siraj (1/17) and Hardik Pandya (1/30).
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThere was no limit on the number of bowlers being used for the practice match so long as they did not exceed the quota of four overs per bowler, and India ended up deploying eight bowlers with left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja (0/11) and Kuldeep Yadav (0/15) the only ones among the Men in Blue not collecting a wicket.
Arshdeep, who had a less than satisfactory outing in the IPL for Punjab Kings, struck twice inside the Power Play, ousting Soumya Sarkar, caught behind by Pant, and Litton Das, who was bowled by a lovely in-curler from over the wicket.
Fellow pacer Mohammed Siraj added the wicket of Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (0) as they slipped to 10 for three in 3.5 overs, and it was too deep a hole to claw back against a competent bowling unit, which has good variety through the ranks.
The Indian bowlers also showed excellent skills to exploit a slow pitch which was also aided by an equally sluggish outfield where the ball did not roll along. Pacer Shivam Dube also chipped in with two wickets (2/11).
For Bangladesh, the defeat was a continuation of their gloomy build-up to the World Cup as they had recently lost the three-match T20I series against the USA 1-2.
Pant underlines status as first-choice keeper
Pant retired after making 53 but not before nullifying a plethora of Bangladeshi slow bowlers.
But the knock has certainly given him an edge over Sanju Samson in the perceived competition for the wicketkeeper-batter slot.
Samson came in as opener ahead of Yashasvi Jaiswal along with skipper Rohit Sharma (23, 19b, 2x4, 1x6) as Virat Kohli, who was expected to open, skipped the match after he arrived in New York only on Friday .
However, Samson, who had a fine run in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals, was trapped in front of the wicket for a 6-ball 1 by left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam as he struggled to come to terms with the nature of the track.
There were also handy contributions by Suryakumar and Pandya as India moved to a competitive total despite not having any single big partnership in their innings.
But the primary architect of that fighting total was Pant.
Pant, who returned to competitive cricket during the IPL 2024, had shown excellent touch for Delhi Capitals while making 287 runs from 13 matches with three fifties and at a strike-rate of 155.
The left-hander continued his fine touch here too, carting Bangladesh bowlers around.
There were those typical Pant shots, which are hard to describe, such as a stand-still flick off medium-pacer Soumya to fine-leg for a boundary or that one-handed six while he was out of balance off off-spinner Mahmudullah Riyadh.
Pant, who smashed Shakib for two successive sixes, brought his fifty in 32 balls with a boundary off Shakib before retiring to the pavilion.
Dube, who was dropped on four, could not exploit the let-off and was dismissed for a 16-ball 14 and at that stage India were 130 for four after 14.4 overs.
India were in need of some acceleration and Pandya provided just that.
Pandya, who was dropped on 26, slammed three consecutive sixes off left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam which were a treat to watch for their power and neat execution.
His innings and confidence might have immensely pleased the team management and himself after a modest outing as Mumbai Indians’ captain in a season where he was subjected to intense professional and personal scrutiny.
Bangladesh also suffered an injury scare as Shoriful walked off just before bowling the final ball of the innings, as Tanzim Hasan completed the over.
Brief scores:
India 182/5 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 53, Hardik Pandya 40; Mahmudullah 1/16) defeated Bangladesh 122/9 in 20 overs (Mahmudullah 40, Shakib Al Hasan 28; Arshdeep Singh 2/12, Shivam Dube 2/13) by 60 runs.
_With PTI inputs
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