ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Arshdeep Singh played different roles as India defeated Bangladesh by 5 runs in a rain marred Super 12 match to cement their hopes for the semi-final on Wednesday.
New Delhi,UPDATED: November 2, 2022 5:49 PM IST
India beats Bangladesh to boost hopes for semi-finals in T20 World Cup (AFP)
By Saurabh Kumar: India held its nerves to take a 5-run victory over Bangladesh in a rainy final-over thriller at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday, boosting their hopes of qualifying for the ICC T20 World Cup semi-finals. Arshdeep Singh became the hero as the young left-arm pacer defended 20 runs in the last over to deny Bangladesh a historic win in Adelaide.
Bangladesh got off to a brilliant start in the 185-run chase as Litton Das took the attack to Indian pacers and hit a quickfire 21-ball fifty before the rain started pouring in after the 7th over of Bangladesh’s chase of 185 in the Group 2 match.
Bangladesh was well ahead of Duckworth Lews Stern (DLS) par score at 7th over as the Shakib al Hasan led side had posted 66 for 0 in 7 overs, which was 17 runs more than the DLS par score of 49. However, the Super 12 match was resumed after 4 overs were lost due to the rain which lasted about 30 minutes and Bangladesh had a goal of 151 in 16 overs.
India finally got their first break when a direct hit from KL Rahul ended Litton Das’ 60-run knockout moments after action resumed after the rain delay. Shortly after his dismissal, Mohammed Shami took Shanto off center when Suryakumar Yadav made a fantastic catch.
Previously, Virat Kohli continued his everlasting love affair with Adelaide and KL Rahul also roared back to help India score a competitive 184 for 6 after Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bowl in the crucial match.
While Kohli scored his third fifty of the T20 World Cup and went unbeaten at 64, Rahul played a confident 50-run knockout. Kohli was part of a pair of crucial stands – 67 for second wicket with Rahul and 38 for third wicket with Suryakumar Yadav (30).
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma (2 out of 7 balls) was unable to take advantage of the missed catch in the first over on Taskin Ahmed (0/15 in 4 overs). After Captain Rohit’s early dismissal, Kohli eased Taskin’s early pressure with some quick running between the wickets.
Shakib Al Hasan (2/33 in 4 overs) claimed the wickets from Rahul and Surya, but Taskin was arguably the best bowler on display. The stage was set for Suryakumar, who made a quick cameo before Shakib’s armball broke through his defense.
However, Kohli continued to attack on one side to bring India to an above average total, despite Hardik Pandya (5), Dinesh Karthik (7) and Axar Patel (7) on the other end not being able to offer much support. Ravichandran Ashwin (13 not out of 6 balls) delivered some lustful blows that could prove very useful in the future.