In the 4th match of Super 4 of the Asia Cup, India vs Bangladesh, India won by 41 runs. Bangladesh's first-time captain Jaker Ali won the toss and chose to bowl first. Litton Das missed out due to injury. India posted a total of 168/6 in 20 overs and Bangladesh were all out on the score of 127/10 in 19.3 overs. Abhishek Sharma performed outstanding again and won the man of the match in his consecutive match.
India’s Batting: A Strong Start, But Weak Finish
Indian openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubhman Gill started cautiously, but after 3 overs, they shifted the gears, and in powerplay, they dominated and scored 72/0. However, the first breakthrough came in the 7th over when Rashid Hossain dismissed Shubhman Gill. He scored 29 runs off 19 balls with 2 fours and 1 six and made a partnership of 77 runs in 38 balls with Abhishek Sharma. India promoted Shivam Dubey to number 3, but he didn't make any impact and was dismissed on the score of 2 runs by Rashid Hossain. After that, Abhishek Sharma tried to build a partnership with captain Suryakumar Yadav, but his innings ended due to an unfortunate runout. Abhishek Sharma scored 75 runs in 37 balls with 6 fours and 5 sixes.
After that, India struggled to make partnerships and continuously lost wickets, and the scoring rate was too slow. Hardik Pandya is the only batsman after the openers who faced some balls and scored 38 runs of 29 balls with 4 fours and 1 six but he was dismissed by Saifuddin. India's score was 96/2 in the first 10 overs but ended on 168/6 in 20 overs. India scored only 72 runs in the last 10 overs and also lost four wickets. This is showing India's struggle in the middle order. India should see this as a wake-up call before the upcoming games and should work on this.
Bangladesh’s Bowling: Brilliant Fightback at the Death
From the Bangladesh side, Tanzim Sakib started well, but after that, the Indian openers started trashing. After the powerplay Rashid Hossain picks 2 wickets in his two overs, which put the brakes on India's plan. Bangladesh slowed down the run rate when they got Abhishek's wicket, as they conceded only 56 runs in 55 balls after that. In the end, they were brilliant. Rashid Hossain took 2 wickets while Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Sakib, and Mohammad Saifuddin took 1 wicket each. At one time, India was looking to get the score of 225+, but in the end, they scored only 168, and for this, the credit goes to Bangladesh's bowlers.
Bangladesh’s Batting: A Collapse to Forget
Bangladesh openers Saif Hassan and Tanzid Hasan came out to chase 169, but Tanzid Hasan got dismissed by Bumrah in 2nd over at the score of 1, and the team's score was just 4 runs. Parvez Hossain and Saif Hassan put a partnership of 42 runs in 30 balls, but Kuldeep got Parvez, and Bangladesh were 46/2. After that, Bangladesh failed to make a partnership, and they were losing wickets one after one.
Saif Hassan was the only batsman who survived, and from one end, he was helpless as their partners were getting dismissed. He scored 69 runs in 51 balls with 3 fours and 5 sixes. Only Saif and Pravez reached double digits, while the rest of the batting lineup fell cheaply, scoring in single digits. A batting performance that Bangladesh should forget easily, as their next match is crucial against Pakistan. This will be a virtual semifinal as the winner will reach the finals. So Bangladesh should fix its batting problems and come stronger.
India’s Bowling: A Collective Show of Strength
From the start to the end, Indian bowlers got wickets. India's superstar bowler Jasprit Bumrah finally performed brilliantly as he took early wickets, and his economy rate was also low. He was the main concern, but finally he performed as shown, proving why he is the best bowler in the world. Indian spinner again showed their magic, they are not only taking wickets but also putting pressure by their tight spells.
From the Indian side, Kuldeep Yadav took 3 wickets, Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy took 2 wickets each, while Tilak Varma and Akshar Patel took 1 wicket each. India's fielding was below average; they dropped 5 catches, otherwise India could have finished it early.
The Road Ahead
Bangladesh has to figure out its mistakes in the batting. They have to make partnerships in the upcoming game against Pakistan. Batsmen have to put in extra effort. Their bowling in the last two matches was good, they have to maintain it . The Indian middle order was exposed today. It is almost certain that India will play the finals, and before the final,s India has to fix this. The Indian side is known for their fielding, but today they dropped 5 catches. This is unexcusable as we heard catches win matches, so India has to learn from mistakes.