India rolled on to the semi-finals with another Cricket World Cup win; this time over a lacklustre Bangladesh side in Melbourne.
India’s seventh consecutive win was reserved, responsible, yet dominant. Opting to bat first in perfect conditions, India took their time, kept wickets in hand and later accelerated to a post an intimidating 302 for 6 from their 50 overs. In form openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan took full advantage of the quick outfield to get India off to the perfect start – 75 without loss – mixing power with grace, and respect for the occasional good ball.
Two quick wickets threatened to derail their momentum, especially as Virat Kholi who previously averaged 120 against Bangladesh was one of them. Not to be deterred was Rohit Sharma, who orchestrated the rest of the innings with a special 137. Joined predominantly by Suresh Raina, who pitched in with 65, Sharma made sure India had wickets in hand to accelerate and that India had a total capable of being defended.
Bangladesh worked tirelessly in the middle overs to restrict the scoring but found it nigh on impossible to stop a late assault that also featured a cameo of 23 not out by Ravindra Jadeja.
In reply, Bangladesh needed a strong start, and ideally, runs to Tamin Iqbal. That would have eased the pressure on double World Cup centurion Mohammed Mahmudullah. Unfortunately, two wickets in tow balls ruined the chances of a fast start, and effectively set the tone for a massive struggle. Bangladesh never got going, never got in the game, and ultimately fell short by a massive 109 runs. None of their players standing up with the bat, and even though they have held themselves well in the tournament and defied expectations, a disappointing exit.
The Bangladeshi’s will understandably focus on the tournament as a whole, as their captain, Mashrafe Mortaza did in the after match press conference when he declared it was a “brilliant tournament” for them.
Conversely, India look on course for a final spot the way they are going. Their remarkable Australia turnaround continues. Purely on the numbers their bowling attack is now more potent than New Zealand’s (based on the Bangladesh scored alone), something that could not have been said prior to the World Cup. Their campaign is evidence of developing a winning formula and sticking to it rigidly to get the results.
India 302 for 6 (Rohit 137, Raina 65, Taskin 3-69) beat Bangladesh 193 (Nasir 35, Yadav 4-31, Shami 2-37) by 109 runs
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