India technically qualified for the semifinals by beating Bangladesh in a nail-biting thriller today. Even though Litton Das played a blinder of an innings, Bangladesh was not supported well by other players and rain. Thus, the men in green lost this rain-affected game by five runs.
After losing the toss, India happened to bat first. Once again, the openers failed to make a big partnership as Rohit Sharma got out in the fourth over. Then, KL Rahul (50) and Virat Kohli (64*) made a big partnership of 67 runs and settled the innings. Rahul got out right after scoring his first half-century of the tournament. Later, Surya Kumar Yadav (30) played an impactful cameo. But once he got out, even Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik went back to the dugout without scoring big. The responsibility has fallen on Virat Kohli and he rose up to the situation. He scored yet another crucial fifty which helped India in scoring a big total. Even Ashwin’s quick little cameo, in the end, helped Team India in scoring 184/6 in 20 overs.
Bangladesh got a stunning start while chasing this big total. Opener Litton Das (60 off 27 balls) breathed fire on Indian bowlers. His sensational knock helped Bangladesh in scoring 66/0 in 7 overs. He scored a half-century in the powerplay itself. When the momentum was high, the rain stopped the play. After the break, the target was set to 151 in 16 overs.
Bangladesh lost Litton’s wicket right after the break. Opener Shanto also got out soon after that. Then, Bangladesh’s batting order started collapsing. But Nurul Hasan (25) and Taskin Ahmed (12) brought back their team into the chase. They fought till the end. In the last over, Bangladesh needed 20 runs to win but they scored 15. Arshdeep Singh bowled well by holding his nerves. Thus, Bangladesh ended its innings at 145/6. Arshdeep Singh (2/38) and Hardik Pandya (2/28) picked up two wickets each.
