ICC Champions Trophy
Dream run ends for Tigers
India in final beating Bangladesh by 9wkts
Syed Mohammed Pithu from Birmingham
Bangladeshs dream run in the ICC Champions Trophy came to an end following their crushing nine-wicket defeat to red-hot India in the second semifinal at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham yesterday. On the back of some superb performances against New Zealand and with some touch of luck, Bangladesh played their first ever semifinal in an ICC event but they didnt quite lived up to the expectation against a ruthless Indian side. While there was enormous hype revolving around the match, India indeed made it a no contest affair with a clinical finish and thorough professionalism to raise the prospect of retaining the title as they take on Pakistan at The Oval on Sunday.
Most of the Bangladeshi batsmen played wretched shots to squander their chances to propel the score past 300 which could have been a fighting total given the wicket wasnt so conducive to the bowlers. They were eventually restricted to 264 for seven what India gunned down without any trouble as they reached the target, racking up 265 losing just one wicket in 40.1 overs.
Opener Rohit Sharma hit a match-winning 123 not out off 129, clattering 15 fours and one six, while captain Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 78-ball 96, clobbering 13 boundaries. In the process, Kohli became the fastest batsman to reach 8,000-run milestone in just 175 innings, bettering the record of South Africas AB de Villiers.
A yet another brilliant 70 from opener Tamim Iqbal and a calculative 61 from dependable Mushfiqur Rahim kept Bangladesh in a position of dominance with the scoreboard reading 161 for three after 30 overs . Thereafter, Bangladesh could muster only 103 runs at a run rate of slightly over five, being strangled by some sensational death over bowling from the India bowlers. In total they could make just 62 runs in the last 10 overs.
The start, however, was exactly to what the finish was with Bangladesh reeling at 36 for two as Indian bowlers made early inroads, capitalising the overcast condition what prompted Virat Kohli to bowl first.
Tamim and Mushfiqur counterattacked in style, being unfazed by the early wickets and that bravery produced a positive outcome.
Tamim specially dominated all the India bowlers apart from Kedar Jadhav who eventually made the crucial breakthrough by dismissing Tamim. He sent the ball across the rope seven times in addition to hitting a six in his 82-ball 70. Kohlis celebration was a treat to watch after the dismissal of Tamim, which clearly indicated how badly they wanted him.
Jadhav struck again to get the big scalp of Mushfiqur Rahim who was serene in an innings of 65 off 81, designed with four boundaries.
Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar pair showed as to why they were rated as one of the most the destructive death over bowlers by tying down Bangladeshi batsmen with a barrage of yorkers and slower, which proved to be very difficult to deal with.
Some early wickets could have kept the Bangladesh hope alive but they were blown away completely by a rapid 87-run opening partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma.
With the pitch easy to bat on, even the dismissal of inform Dhawan on 46 by Mashrafe hardly affected the tempo of the game. Virat Kohli joined Rohit to punish the demoralised Bangladeshi bowlers further, playing with such ease that Bangladesh gave up all hopes long before the completion of the game.
After missing his century in the first game against Pakistan by nine runs, Sharma finally reached his 11th ton with a six over long-off region.
Kohli and Sharma shared an unbeaten 178-run to script the victory with the former fittingly sealing the deal with a crisp drive for boundary to the cover region.
